Juan Jose Martinez
The Harlingen Police Department on Wednesday arrested a 45-year-old man and charged him with murder following the Monday discovery of a body in a vehicle.
In a news release, police allege that Juan Jose Martinez shot the unidentified victim in the face with a large caliber weapon.
Authorities discovered the unidentified man’s body Monday at around 3:15 p.m. in a vehicle in the 1900 block of Lozano Street.
“The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle used in a homicide that occurred the day before just outside of the Harlingen city limits,” the release stated.
The only other homicide investigation authorities have revealed occurred on Saturday in the Arroyo Acres subdivision.
Over the weekend, the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office said Harlingen police were investigating the shooting death of 48-year-old Jose Antonio Torres.
According to police, sheriff’s dispatchers received a call that day regarding shots fired at about 10:29 p.m., where the caller said that moments after hearing the shots their neighbor, Torres, knocked on the door.
The caller said they were too scared to open the door but saw the man bleeding on their porch.
The sheriff’s office said Torres lived directly across the street from where his body was found and said he had died from an apparent gunshot wounds prior to the arrival of police and paramedics.
As for the body found on Monday, Harlingen police said the department’s Criminal Investigations Division conducted an extensive investigation and identified Martinez as the suspect.
He is charged with murder and aggravated assault and received a total of $2.1 million in bonds.
