EDINBURG — A 45-year-old Mercedes man pleaded guilty Thursday morning to punching and killing his brother-in-law following an argument on New Year’s Day in 2018.
As part of the plea agreement, state prosecutors dropped the first count of aggravated assault against Alfonso Flores Alejandro after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the death of 43-year-old Jose Duran.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Alejandro and Duran got into an argument after Alejandro brought his girlfriend to his mother’s home on New Year’s Day. His girlfriend, however, was not welcomed there and was asked to leave.
As Alejandro and his girlfriend were leaving, Duran approached them and a confrontation ensued. At one point, Alejandro punched Duran, and Duran fell to the ground and hit his head on the roadway and died as a result.
Alejandro later called his sister, who was married to Duran, to admit he had hit Duran but didn’t mean to kill him.
Alejandro’s attorney, Juan Tijerina, described Duran’s death as a “freak accident.”
Prosecutor Juan Bazan recommended the court give Alejandro eight years of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with 890 days in credit. The court agreed.
He will be transferred to TDCJ to serve his sentence.
