Mission woman a no-show at arraignment on two counts of murder

A third person has been indicted on two counts of murder over her alleged involvement in a deadly crash that occurred in 2019, when two men accused of trying to smuggle six people into the country fled from the Texas Department of Public Safety and caused a head-on crash that killed two San Juan residents.

Alejandra Gonzalez Lopez, a 37-year-old Mission resident, did not appear for her arraignment Tuesday morning on two counts of murder, a count of engaging in organized criminal activity, two counts of evading arrest causing death, six counts of evading arrest causing serious bodily injury and six counts of smuggling of persons causing serious bodily injury or death.

Lopez, who was initially arrested on Aug. 5, 2019, on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity, has warrants for her arrest on the charges and her attorney, Eloy I. Hernandez, told state District Judge Fernando Mancias that he was unable to contact her.

“I haven’t been able to make contact with her this morning,” Hernandez said during the video-conferencing hearing.

Lopez is charged along with Peñitas residents Jesus Eduardo Estrada, 21, and Humberto Garcia, 27, for the March 13, 2019, crash on U.S. Highway 83 near La Joya that killed 45-year-old Leonel Martinez Jr. and 69-year-old Aurora Chavez.

Several days after the fatal crash, DPS arrested Estrada, who is accused of driving the vehicle, and Garcia.

Both men face the same charges as Lopez.

A Texas Department of Transportation crash report states that the driver of a green 2004 Ford Expedition containing “unrestrained occupants” was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed while fleeing authorities when the driver steered onto a grass median to pass other vehicles before losing control and veering into the westbound lanes, hitting a white 2007 Nissan Sentra.

Martinez was driving the Nissan Sentra and Chavez was a passenger.

A probable cause affidavit for Lopez’s initial arrest on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity alleges that she admitted to renting the Ford Expedition for the smuggling attempt.

The indictment alleges the crash caused serious bodily injury to Lucas Morales-Xirum, Lucia Perez-Antero, Blanca Lily Villegas-Diaz, Tomas Gabriel Gonzalez-Morales, Yeslin Janeth Mendez-Ramos and Presentacion Martinez while attempting to smuggle them into the United States.

The trio is also accused of engaging in organized criminal activity with Guadalupe Garcia-Chavez, Esmeralda Rubeli-Martinez and Luis Gabriel Medrano.

State and federal court records don’t indicate those individuals have been arrested.

Lopez had been free on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond on the engaging in organized criminal activity charge which Mancias, the judge, revoked. There is no bond set on the remaining charges.

Estrada remains jailed on a total of $1,150,000 in bonds while Garcia is being held on $255,000 in bonds, records show.