Community mourns fallen San Benito officer while preparing to lay him to rest

SAN BENITO — After her daughter Daniela was born, San Benito police Lt. Lupi Andrade, like many in this close-knit community, asked Lt. Milton Resendez to become her child’s godfather.

Over the years, Resendez, who didn’t have children, became godfather to 11 children, his obituary reads.

Late Tuesday night, he became the first San Benito police officer killed in the line of duty after he was shot during a fierce hours-long pursuit stretching from a South Padre Island beach to Brownsville, where authorities arrested two men who are now facing capital murder charges.

This week, Andrade has been helping Melissa Resendez, the slain officer’s wife, plan his funeral arrangements.

“This hits at a deeper level,” Andrade said. “He was more than my fellow lieutenant, more than my co-worker and colleague. He baptized my daughter. He was my daughter’s godfather, so he was part of my family, too. He didn’t have kids, so he really saw my daughter as his.”

Police department ‘torn’

A 27-year veteran of the police department, Resendez’s killing has stunned this town of about 25,000.

Inside the department, his death is tearing wounds deep within its 50 officers.

“The department’s torn,” Police Chief Mario Perea said. “We’re all with heavy hearts. Milton was part of our family. The department’s hurting and the family’s hurting. It’s going to hurt for a long time.”

On Thursday, Resendez’s funeral is expected to draw hundreds, including law enforcement agencies from across the region.

“It’s great how we’re all coming together,” Perea said.

On Wednesday, Resendez’s family is holding visitation from 1 to 9 p.m. at the ABC Event Center at 923 E. Stenger St., with a rosary set for 7 p.m.

For Resendez’s family, Donny Cuevas and his wife Anna B. Cuevas, the owner, are opening the center free of charge.

“We’re covering it,” he said. “I’m giving back to them. They protect us. They put their lives at risk for us so it’s only fair for us to help them if we can.”

Like other residents, Cuevas was shocked over the level of violence which led to Resendez’s death.

“We never expected something like this to happen in our community,” he said. “The way I see it, police is family. They take care of us and we take care of them.”

On Thursday, the family’s holding a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, before burial at San Benito Memorial Park.

‘Great leader’ remembered

Resendez, one of the police department’s top officials, served as the San Benito Police Association’s second vice president.

“Words cannot begin to express what our police officer’s association, police department, our entire city, community and his family are going through right now,” Andrade, the police union’s president, said. “He was a great leader, co-worker, friend, brother, uncle, brother-in-law, godfather and mostly a great human being. We are left with wonderful memories and unforgettable moments. The hardest thing is that we are left to try and cope with this senseless tragedy that took Lt. Milton Resendez too soon.”

This week, Andrade has remained close to Melissa Resendez as she planned her husband’s funeral.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Melissa Resendez, who committed her life to him and supported him through his law enforcement career,” Andrade said. “We pray that God grants her peace because being the wife of a police officer is never easy, but she shared his dedicated and commitment to his job and our community and showed him total support.”

“Lt. Milton Resendez, we won’t be saying goodbye just now — but till we see you again, we’ve got your watch from here on. Rest in peace, brother.”

Background

On Thursday, a judge charged Rogelio Martinez, 18, of Brownsville, and Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez, 23, a Mexican national, with charges including capital murder of a peace officer, ordering them held on bonds as high as $2 million.

At about 10:58 p.m. Tuesday in San Benito, near Business 77 and Sam Houston Boulevard, one of the defendants fired into Resendez’s truck, with one round piercing its door, entering the officer’s body from beneath his bulletproof vest, Perea told reporters during a Wednesday news conference.

He was pronounced dead at Valley Baptist Medical Center.