A 40-year-old Roma man who pulled a loaded gun on McAllen police officers in 2021 before accidentally shooting himself during the struggle was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday.
Court records indicate that Reynold Barrera Esquivel pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder of a peace officer and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors moved to dismiss two drug charges and a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, which was granted.
The shooting, which occurred on Aug. 26, 2021 near the 3000 block of Highway 83 in McAllen, was mostly caught on dash-cam video, which police released following the shooting.
At the time, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez commended one of his officers for stopping what could have turned deadly and told media that Barrera had a lengthy criminal record.
Police encountered Barrera after someone called 911 to report that he possibly had a gun and a knife and had gone into a hotel lobby and “pointed (a) finger like he was going to shoot.”
The caller also told police that he heard the sound of a gun cocking and said that a janitor had seen the gun.
Police found Barrera at about 11 p.m. near Ware Road and Business 83.
According to a police report, Barrera told Noe Guerra, a 19-year veteran of the department, “Here we die,” in Spanish as Guerra approached him.
Barrera reached into his waistline, took out the gun and began to turn toward Guerra when the officer tackled Barrera and wrestled him to the ground. During the struggle, Barrera shot himself in the hand.
Police seized the gun — a semi-automatic, .380 caliber handgun — and found Barrera carrying an Arizona Department of Corrections “Released Offender” ID Card.
Barrera will receive credit for all the time that he has already spent in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center since his arrest.
