In 2008 he, his wife
Jennifer Henderson and two accomplices--Alonso Machain and John Kennedy--were tried and convicted of the murders of Tom and
Jackie Hawks. According to the prosecution, DeLeon and his accomplices pretended to be interested in buying a yacht belonging to the Hawks. He convinced them to go out to sea for a test cruise and forced them to sign the ownership documents in his name, before tying them to the anchor and throwing them overboard. He was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder (the third count was for the murder of a man named Jon Jarvi in Mexico in 2003). All were found guilty of first-degree murder; Machain was sentenced to 20 years, De Leon's wife was sentenced to life in prison without parole, and DeLeon and Kennedy were sentenced to death on 4/14/09.