A McAllen man accused of fatally shooting his passenger following a crash in Alton last week had two handguns inside the truck he was driving.
The Monitor obtained the probable cause affidavits for 30-year-old Yahir De Jesus Perez, who is accused of shooting and killing 42-year-old Sergio Cepeda last Thursday. Those documents provide more clarity about the circumstances surrounding the death.
Those documents indicate that at approximately 1:10 a.m. on Oct. 21, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 5007 N. Conway Ave. in Alton in reference to a crash and a man with a gunshot wound.
That’s where authorities found Cepeda on the side of the road with a gunshot wound. Emergency personnel took him to Doctors Hospital at Renaissance where he later died.
At the scene of the crash, two witnesses told investigators they heard a loud crash and saw that a dark-colored pickup truck had crashed into metal posts dividing the lanes of traffic on Conway Avenue.
“The witnesses stated they saw two males exit the pickup truck and observed the driver of the vehicle shoot the passenger,” the affidavit said.
Then, they said the driver, who was later identified as Perez, drove off northbound in the truck.
While deputies were responding to the scene of the crash, they learned Alton police had pulled over a blue GMC Canyon that had front-end damage.
Officers with the Alton Police Department made contact with Perez and then immediately detained him after seeing two handguns in plain view.
The affidavit said one of the handguns was chambered.
“Sheriff’s deputies arrived at location and observed blood on the truck’s front bumper,” the affidavit stated.
Meanwhile, at the scene of the shooting, investigators found three .380 spent casings and saw blood on the street, railing and debris from the blue GMC Canyon.
Justice of the Peace Jason Peña conducted an inquest and declared Cepeda dead at 1:44 a.m. and ordered an autopsy, which was conducted that same day and found Cepeda died from a gunshot wound.
Police also found .023 ounces of marijuana and 2.8 grams of cocaine in the truck.
Perez remained jailed Tuesday at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $1,038,000 in bonds.
