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The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office is asking the Texas Attorney General whether it has to release probable cause affidavits for three men accused of fatally gunning down a 16-year-old in early November.
Deputies arrested Pharr residents Antonio Rodriguez, 21, and Joseph Zachary Castillo, 20, and 18-year-old San Juan resident Rudy Alexander Coronado on a charge of murder following the Nov. 4 shooting.
The teen has not been identified by authorities, but should the trio be indicted he will be named there and that document will likely be available to the public.
In its request for a ruling from the Attorney General, civil attorneys with the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office, who are making the request on behalf of the sheriff’s office, said they believe the affidavits are not subject to the Texas Public Information Act because they contain the identity of the victim.
There has been scant information released about the shooting.
Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra previously said in a post on social media that the shooting happened in the 7200 block of Iowa Road in rural Edinburg and that it left the teenager dead and left an unidentified woman in critical condition.
Guerra also said in the post that deputies responded to the location at around 3:39 a.m. after receiving a call about shots fired.
In a news release the agency later issued, officials said that there had been a “disturbance on the roadway” prior to the shooting.
The request for the opinion also cites Texas Family Code, which is a typical argument the attorneys make to the AG when The Monitor requests an affidavit that contains information about a minor.
All three suspects remain held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on $1 million bonds.
