A 30-year-old McAllen man has been indicted on a murder charge for accusations he shot and killed his passenger following an early morning October crash in Alton.
A Hidalgo County grand jury indicted Yahir De Jesus Perez on Dec. 13 on that charge and on a count of possession of a controlled substance for the Oct. 21 shooting death of 42-year-old Sergio Cepeda.
Perez is also facing two misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana, less than 2 ounces, and unlawful carrying of a weapon that are related to the alleged murder.
A probable cause affidavit for his arrest said that Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies at around 1:10 a.m. that day responded to 5007 N. Conway Ave. in reference to a crash and a man with a gunshot wound.
Authorities found Cepeda on the side of the road with a gunshot wound and emergency personnel took him to DHR Health in Edinburg where he later died.
Two witnesses at the scene told investigators they heard a loud crash and saw a dark-colored pickup had hit 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 stated.
Perez then drove off northbound in the truck, but Alton police pulled over his blue GMC Canyon, which had front-end damage, as sheriff’s deputies simultaneously were responding to the crash.
Alton police immediately detained Perez after making contact with him because they saw two handguns, one of which was chambered, in plain view, according to the affidavit.
“Sheriff’s deputies arrived at location and observed blood on the truck’s front bumper,” the affidavit stated.
Investigators at the scene of the shooting recovered three .380 spent casings and saw blood on the street, railing and debris from the blue GMC Canyon, according to the affidavit.
Police also said they found .023 ounces of marijuana and 2.8 grams of cocaine in the truck.
Perez is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment next week.
He remains jailed in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $863,000 in bonds.
