Edinburg man charged in hit-and-run turned murder pleads not guilty

Solis

An 18-year-old Edinburg man entered a not guilty plea to a murder charge for the death of a 41-year-old man in November.

Jesse Jothan Solis appeared in front of 275th state District Judge Marla Cuellar Thursday afternoon at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center’s courtroom, where he entered the plea.

Those proceedings were broadcast via YouTube with attorneys and court staff appearing via video-conferencing.

Solis is charged in the alleged beating death of 41-year-old John Joseph Young.

A grand jury indicted him April 15.

The Edinburg Police Department, which investigated the case, initially believed Young died in a hit-and-run shortly after 11 p.m. Nov. 6 at the intersection of 21st Avenue and Cano Street.

However, that changed Nov. 11, when a man told police that a coworker told him that his cousin and another man, possibly nicknamed “Trouble,” had beaten up a man in front of the La Espiga Bakery, which is located at Cano Street and 21st Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The co-worker’s cousin is a 16-year-old juvenile who has also been charged with murder.

The tip followed a Nov. 10 Edinburg Police Department news release titled “Fatal hit and run” that sought the public’s assistance with identifying a vehicle and a driver involved in what police called a crash near the bakery.

However, after the tip came in, detectives tracked down the coworker who provided a statement saying his cousin “arrived at his house upset in his gray 4-door car at about 11 p.m. because a male that was in front of the bakery had thrown himself at his car and had broken the mirror,” the affidavit stated.

Edinburg police later issued another new release announcing they had arrested Solis and the juvenile, and said Young’s body had struck the side mirror of the vehicle before Solis and the juvenile returned and confronted Young, beating the man and leaving him in the roadway.

“Investigator Moreno will testify (the cousin) stated that a short time later Jesse and (the juvenile) arrived back at the house with blood on their arms saying that they had just beaten up the male in front of the bakery,” the affidavit stated.

The Monitor contacted former Edinburg police spokeswoman Arielle Benedict after the department issued that news release, and at the time she said investigators were working to determine whether the beating, the collision or a combination of both caused Young’s death.

Young’s nephew spoke to police the night he died, telling investigators that his uncle lived in the 200 block of South 21st Street.

He reported hearing a “loud thump” while he was in his yard at around 11:10 p.m. and said he saw a gray passenger car traveling south hit a man, but didn’t know the make and model of the vehicle as it fled the scene, according to the affidavit.

Police also spoke to his aunt, who said she had separated from Young a few months prior to his death and had obtained a protective order against him, the charging document stated.

“Officer Miranda will testify John became upset with her earlier because she would not remove the order and would not get back with him. Officer Miranda will testify John also told her that he was going to destroy the house,” the affidavit stated.

As for Solis, his family has retained two attorneys, including Alma Garza, who appeared on his behalf Thursday afternoon.

She told Cuellar, the judge, that she will be urging a bond reduction motion on Solis’ behalf, which is scheduled for next week.

Solis remained jailed Thursday on a $1 million bond for murder and a $5,000 bond for possession of marijuana, less than two ounces.