A 20-year-old Edinburg man last week admitted to shooting a woman in the head after she told him she was breaking up with him.
Samuel Rubio pleaded guilty on Dec. 14 to attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon while in a relationship, court records indicate.
Following his guilty pleas, state District Judge Israel Ramon Jr. sentenced him to 15 years in prison for the attempted murder charge and 12 years for the aggravated assault charge.
The sentences will run concurrently and Rubio will receive credit for the 560 days he has spent in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center since his June 1 arrest following the shooting.
The shooting happened on May 31, 2021 in the 200 block of 83 1/2 in rural Edinburg.
A probable cause affidavit for his arrest said that Rubio claimed the woman, who was 18 at the time, told authorities she was playing with the gun when she accidentally shot herself.
Investigators, however, determined Rubio lied and that he actually pulled the trigger twice because the gun didn’t fire the first time.
Authorities came to that conclusion after they re-interviewed Rubio, who admitted that the woman and she told him she was going to leave him.
“Rubio confessed he had loaded a black 38 special revolver handgun and pointed it to (her) head,” the affidavit stated. “Rubio stated he pulled the trigger once but the gun did not fire. Rubio stated he pulled the trigger a second time, shooting (her) in the head.”
Rubio did not reach a plea deal with prosecutors, but he did waive his right to appeal.
