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Jesse Guardado’s Criminal History

Jesse Guardado’s criminal history dates back to August 1981, when the 19-year-old was involved in trafficking in stolen property in Orange County, Florida. He was sentenced to two years and was locked up from November 25th, 1981, to October 23, 1982.

Less than two weeks later, on November 5th, 1982, he was back in custody, though it’s unclear why. He was released again on February 1st, 1983, with a great chance to learn his lesson and turn his life around, but that didn’t happen.

He committed an armed robbery on April 1st, 1983, in Orange County. He ended up with a 10-year prison sentence for this offense, but by November 1987, he was back on the streets.

On June 20th, 1989, Jesse Guardado committed an armed robbery in Orange County, Florida. He struck again on July 3rd, in Seminole County, but this time he was unarmed. On July 27th, he committed another armed robbery and was captured soon after.

Orange County prosecuted him for a count of robbery with a gun or deadly weapon, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Seminole County prosecuted him for a count of robbery with a gun or deadly weapon and a count of robbery without a gun or deadly weapon. He received 20 years for the armed robbery and 15 years for the unarmed robbery.

All the sentences must have run concurrently, because he was released on January 1st, 2003.

Murder of Jackie Malone

According to CBSNews, back in 2004, then-42-year-old Jesse Guardado needed a place to stay after returning home from prison. 75-year-old Jackie Malone helped him get a place and a job.

Guardado punished her for her good deed. He showed up at her home on September 13th, 2004, and asked to use her telephone. Once inside, he hit her in the head with a breaker bar, stabbed her in the chest, and then slit her throat.

He stole her purse, jewelry, a briefcase, and a cell phone and fled. He was captured soon after the murder.

Legal Proceedings

CBSNews also reported that in some of his most recent appeals, he claimed his lawyers were ineffective and did not properly investigate or present mitigating evidence at his sentencing hearing that would have kept him off of death row. He also claimed his lawyer should have done a better job trying to get three jurors removed from the penalty phase.

A three-judge panel with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against his argument of ineffective counsel in 2024.

Ron DeSantis Signs His Death Warrant

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on October 5th, 2026, scheduling the now-64-year-old to be executed on November 5th by lethal injection.

If all scheduled executions for October are carried out, Guardado will be the 20th person executed in 2026. That would surpass last year’s total of 19, which was the most in the USA since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.