The Court of Texas Criminal Appeals has remanded the case against a La Villa man convicted of killing an off-duty Border Patrol agent in Willacy County in August 2014 back to the trial court.
The higher court issued its opinion Tuesday in the case of Gustavo Tijerina Sandoval versus the State of Texas.
The case was remanded to the trial court to clarify discrepancies in the record.
A Cameron County jury in May 2018 convicted Tijerina-Sandoval of shooting and killing off-duty Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega Jr., of Kingsville, and shooting and injuring the man’s father, Javier Vega Sr., of La Feria, in August, 2014. He received the death penalty and is on death row at a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility.
The CCA issued its order due to what appeared to be an “inaccuracy in either the clerk’s record or the reporter’s record. Pursuant to authority to have an inaccuracy in the record corrected, we conclude that a remand to the trial court is appropriate for a hearing and for findings of fact on whether there is an inaccuracy in the docket notations or in the court reporter’s notations regarding whether the appellant and counsel were present for three instances in which the trial judge heard qualifications, excuses and exemptions for a venire panel.”
In a portion of his appeal Tijerina-Sandoval said statements he made to law enforcement should have been suppressed because they were coerced and did not comply with Miranda and the Texas Court of Criminal Procedure Article 38.22.
Three generations of Vegas were at their favorite fishing spot in Willacy County when Tijerina-Sandoval and Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo ambushed Vega Jr. and his family while they were fishing in Willacy County near Santa Monica on Aug. 3, 2014, prosecutors said. The men opened fire on the family during an attempt to steal their vehicle, prosecutors said.
Hernandez-Vallejo was sentenced to 50 years in prison after entering a guilty plea for the murder and attempted capital murder on Jan. 15 in front of former 197th state District Judge Migdalia Lopez. As part of Hernandez-Vallejo’s agreement with the government, he promised not to appeal and to testify against Tijerina-Sandoval, who has appealed, during that process.
According to court testimony, Tijerina-Sandoval owed $3,500 to someone because he lost a vehicle engine. That person was threatening Tijerina-Sandoval so the man concocted a plan to steal a vehicle, prosecutors said.
The trial court is to forward its findings to the CCA within 60 days from the March 2 order.
