A judge sentenced a 44-year-old man to 19 years in prison on Thursday for his role in a Mission double homicide the day after Christmas in 2015.
Authorities arrested Alberto Garcia Ocañas on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons in March 2019 after he showed at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge where biometric information showed he had a warrant.
The killings occurred Dec. 26, 2015, when Ocañas and three other men tried to steal more than 400 pounds of marijuana from a residence in the 6100 block of Dario Street in rural Mission.
The attempted theft resulted in a confrontation that resulted in an exchange of gunfire that killed 43-year-old Juan Carmorlinga Torres, who was part of the rip crew, and 24-year-old Rodrigo Villanueva Alvarez, who owned the home that was the target of the drug robbery.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the location at 2:58 p.m. that day for a disturbance they later reclassified as capital murder after deputies found the men dead at the back of the property behind a small travel trailer, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“Sheriff Investigators reviewed surveillance footage which showed armed men to include Juan Camorlinga Torres arrive at the residence in a silver Ford Ranger and a secondary vehicle,” the document stated. “Armed men entered the property and chased after the homeowner and the other victims at location while pointing handguns in their direction.”
Witnesses told police the Ford Ranger belonged to Garcia and added that he was armed.
“Witnesses also stated that Juan Camorlinga Torres worked for Alberto Garcia Ocanas,” the affidavit stated.
Investigators recovered guns, bundles or marijuana, cash and video surveillance from the scene.
Police also arrested Ramon Aguilar Jr. after the shooting. He pleaded guilty to murder in 2017 and is serving a 28-year prison sentence.
He is eligible for parole in 2030 and his maximum sentence extends to 2044.
The status of the remaining suspect, Guillermo Peña, who was 29 at the time of the shooting, is not immediately clear.
A search of county court and jail records do not return any results for him and he also doesn’t appear in records for incarcerated individuals in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Editor’s note: This story’s headline was updated to reflect the correct number of years Ocañas was sentenced to.
