UPDATE (01/27/2022 3 P.M.)
Since this story was published, the petition has garnered more than double of the originally reported 71,000 signatures. Now, it nears 200,000 as a total of 189,602 people have signed the petition.
A Change.org petition calling for the release of three teens Pharr police arrested in the death of a man who was accused of sexually abusing his 9-year-old daughter is quickly picking up steam online.
Brothers Alejandro, 18, and Christian Treviño, 17, and their friend Juan Eduardo Melendez, 18, are facing charges after being accused of beating 42-year-old Gabriel Quintanilla in three separate incidents last week.
Quintanilla was found dead near McColl and Whalen roads in McAllen on Thursday, and Christian and Melendez face capital murder charges. Alejandro, like his brother and friend, also faces aggravated assault and engaging in criminal activity charges. All three remain jailed on bonds ranging from $1 million to over $1.5 million.
The case has since gained widespread attention with many calling for the release of the three teenage suspects.
The petition to Gov. Greg Abbott was created by Carlos Eduardo Espina of College Station on Tuesday and as of 4 p.m. has garnered over 71,000 signatures en route to meeting its 75,000 goal.
“We ask (the state) of Texas to release these teenagers, who could possibly spend the rest of their life in prison for protecting their sister,” the petition reads.
An affidavit obtained by The Monitor revealed that Quintanilla had engaged in a physical confrontation with the Treviño brothers after their 9-year-old half-sister, Quintanilla’s daughter, accused him of molesting her.
It went on to say that Quintanilla left the scene of the confrontation and was chased by the Treviño brothers and Melendez, who allegedly beat Quintanilla with brass knuckles.
During a news conference held Tuesday, it was revealed that Pharr police had acquired an arrest warrant for Quintanilla for an unrelated sexual assault case in 2019, but authorities could not locate him until his body was discovered Thursday.
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