A 27-year-old Weslaco resident received a sentence of 10 years probation for the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Mercedes resident Emmanuel Alvarado on Dec. 3, 2019.
Johnothon Gonzalez shot and killed Alvarado, who along with four other men, including his brother, burst into Gonzalez’s home with guns looking for drugs.
A shootout ensued and at the time the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said Gonzalez disarmed one of the men and shot Alvarado.
Investigators charged Gonzalez with tampering with physical evidence for removing bullet casings from the scene of the shooting, which happened in rural Weslaco at 9920 N. Saltillo Circle.
The investigation began after Alvarado’s brother, Noel, a 24-year-old Mercedes resident, drove him to Knapp Medical Center where he died of his wounds.
The sheriff’s office responded to the hospital and Noel Alvarado led deputies to the scene of the shooting.
Noel is charged with murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. He is currently free on $90,000 in bonds.
In the days after the shooting, the sheriff’s office would also arrest 23-year-old Mercedes resident Juan Jesus Hernandez and 24-year-old Weslaco resident Martin Torres Perez Jr.
Both men face a count of murder and two counts of aggravated robbery.
Perez is free on $80,500 in bonds while Hernandez remains jailed on $150,000 in bonds, records show.
One man remains unarrested in the case.
The sheriff’s office is still looking for 31-year-old Mercedes resident Isidro Rubiel Juarez, who has a warrant for murder.
Anyone with information about Juarez’s whereabouts should call the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Division at (956) 383-8114.
People can also call anonymously to the Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers hotline at (956) 668-TIPS (8477). Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the smartphone application P3 Tips.
