Cox Cable technician savagely murders college student

Cox Cable technician brutally kills child in Arizona

PHOENIX — Allowing a Cox Cable technician into your home, whether prearranged or not, can place you and your family in jeopardy.

In previous articles, I’ve let readers know that the Cox Cable technician that is dispatched to your home for a new installation or repair is very likely a subcontractor, and Cox has no idea beforehand as to the name of the Cox Cable Technician that is going to show up because, on a regular basis, they use subcontractors.

They may not even know the company name of the subcontractor in advance.

General News and updates at Las Vegas World News

Here are the details of a brutal murder committed by Cox Cable technician, Mike Peter Gallardo, that Cox would surely prefer that you don’t know about.

The horrific crime that snuffed out a promising young man’s life occurred in 2005 in Phoenix, Ariz.

Gallardo who wore a Cox Cable shirt actually worked for a Allcom, a company that performed subcontracting work for Cox. In 2005, Gallardo was in his late 40s and had already served nearly half of his life behind bars.  His criminal history included 16 prior felony convictions including armed robbery and burglary.

Rudy and Sandy Padilla were your typical family.  Married, happy and the proud parents of Rudy Padilla, Jr., who was 20 years old. Rudy Padilla, Jr. was, by all accounts, a good kid and very smart.  He was an honors student who had been awarded a full scholarship to the University of Arizona.

After about a year at UA, he decided he missed his family so he moved back home and enrolled in a nearby college.

As a typical teen, Padilla, Jr. used the Internet frequently and noticed that it was running slow.

In early Dec. 2005,  Padilla, Jr. was walking his dog and encountered a cable guy.  He knew he was a Cox Cable technician because he was wearing an identifiable Cox shirt. It was a chance meeting because Gallardo had allegedly missed his ride to work. The two struck up a conversation and Padilla, Jr. told the Cox Cable technician about the slow Internet at his home.

The Cox Cable technician walked over to the Padilla’s outside box, used his special key to open it and said he would return with his partner to investigate.

Before leaving he jotted down Padilla’s home phone number and asked when people would be home at the house. Although Padilla Jr., knew he should not give out personal information to strangers,  he did not sense any danger and provided it. One can infer that he assumed he was dealing with a Cox Cable employee so he answered the technician’s questions.

He told Gallardo that he was going to be in school all week. During that conversation, it likely came out that his parents would also be out of the home.

In an sad twist of fate, he forgot to tell the technician that he would be home on Friday, Dec. 9.

Just before 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, Gallardo called the Padilla home.  Padilla Jr., was there but he did not answer the phone. He was sleeping.

Gallardo then broke into the home.

At some point Padilla, Jr. confronted Gallardo. The two men fought and Gallardo overpowered Padilla, Jr.  He strangled him with an electrical cord, forced him down to his knees, tied electrical cords on his feet, neck and hands and executed the 20-year-old, shooting him in the back of the head.

He was arrested after investigators analyzed phone records and DNA evidence found at the scene.

Juan Martinez,of Jodi Arias fame, successfully prosecuted the case and Gallardo was found guilty of first degree murder on June 10, 2009.

He was sentenced to death on June 30, 2009.

The family settled a wrongful death lawsuit that they had filed against Cox.

Gallardo is currently on death row.

Related articles

• Possible Cox Cable impersonator sexually assaults woman
• Cable field network techs used to cold temps