Bio 

Joe Luna was born on October 26, 1979, in Bexar County, Texas. Texas prison records list him as Hispanic, with a 10th-grade education. His prior occupation was listed as laborer. Before the murder of Michael Andrade, Luna already had a criminal record. He had previously been sent to TDCJ under inmate number 858472 on two five-year sentences for assault on a public servant with bodily injury and burglary of a habitation by force.

By 2005, Luna was connected to an apartment near Andrade’s residence. Investigators later found that he had used the attic crawl space from his girlfriend’s apartment to enter Andrade’s apartment. Luna said he intended to steal from Andrade, but the burglary turned violent after Andrade saw him.

After the killing, Luna set fire to the apartment in an attempt to destroy evidence and cover up the crime. He later pleaded guilty to capital murder and told the jury he wanted the death penalty rather than spend the rest of his life in prison.

Murder Story

On February 17, 2005, Joe Luna entered the Bexar County apartment of Michael Paul Andrade, a 21-year-old man. The state alleged that Luna entered through a shared attic crawl space from the apartment of his girlfriend, Maria Solis.

Luna intended to burglarize the apartment. When Andrade saw him, Luna restrained him and strangled him. The indictment alleged that Luna intentionally caused Andrade’s death by strangling him with a ligature and another object unknown to the grand jury while committing or attempting to commit burglary, robbery, and arson.

After killing Andrade, Luna later returned to the apartment and set it on fire. TDCJ’s case summary states that Luna burglarized Andrade’s home, choked him to death, then returned and burned the residence.

Police received a Crime Stoppers tip naming Luna as a suspect. Investigators learned that Luna had been staying at Solis’s apartment and that the two apartments were connected by attic access. Solis gave police consent to search her apartment and told detectives that Luna had admitted entering Andrade’s apartment through the crawl space.

Luna was charged with capital murder. At the start of trial, he pleaded guilty in front of the jury. After evidence was presented, the jury returned a guilty verdict for capital murder. The case then moved to punishment, where the jury had to decide whether he should receive life imprisonment or the death penalty.

During the punishment phase, Luna testified against his lawyers’ advice. He told the jury that he wanted to “turn my life over to God,” “set it straight” for Andrade’s family, and give them justice for what he had done. He also said he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison.

On April 25, 2006, Luna was received by TDCJ under death-row number 999509. His direct appeal was automatic. On October 29, 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected his appellate claims and affirmed the trial court’s judgment and death sentence.

Luna later pursued state and federal habeas appeals. In 2020, the Fifth Circuit noted that Luna admitted guilt and that, during punishment, he told the jury he posed a continuing danger and wanted the death penalty. The court denied relief.