EDINBURG — A teenager accused of helping two Pharr brothers beat a 42-year-old man to death in January pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to multiple charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and capital murder by terroristic threat.
Juan Eduardo Melendez went before Judge Fernando Mancias in the 93rd District Court Tuesday morning for his arraignment.
His arraignment follows that of brothers Alejandro and Christian Treviño, who are accused of beating their 42-year-old stepfather, Gabriel Quintanilla, to death on Jan. 20 after learning that he had allegedly sexually abused his 9-year-old daughter.
According to police, Christian chased Quintanilla out of the residence where the brothers lived. Soon after, Melendez arrived in a red Dodge Charger. Melendez, Alejandro, and a male juvenile then went searching for Christian, who was found beating Quintanilla with brass knuckles at an apartment complex on Linden and Coyote streets.
The male juvenile told police that Melendez and Alejandro exited the Dodge Charger and began beating Quintanilla as well.
Later on, Melendez, Christian and the juvenile found Quintanilla walking south on Veterans Boulevard and proceeded to beat him again until he lost consciousness. Quintanilla was placed in the back of a white Ford F-150. His body was left in an open field by Whalen and McColl roads, and was later discovered by a farmer.
The Treviño brothers were indicted last Tuesday. Christian was indicted on capital murder charges, while Alejandro was indicted on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Elia Cornejo Lopez and Louis Sorola, the attorneys representing Melendez, spoke after Tuesday’s arraignment and said that they are going to try to have Melendez’s bond reduced. He is currently being held at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on $750,000 in bonds.
“Hopefully it will be a quick resolution,” Lopez said. “We’re working to start getting discovery, and we need to analyze them with the client. We need to prepare for a defense for him. We have a great judge, Judge Mancias. He has great experience in trying many cases, especially murder and capital murder cases. We look forward to a just and fair trial.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the criminal charges the brothers are facing.
