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A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder last Thursday for gunning down a man outside a small apartment complex in Brownsville more than two years ago.
Hector Hugo Lopez reached a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to murder for the Aug. 4, 2021 shooting death of Edgar Barrera in the 5400 block of Boca Chica Boulevard.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed a charge of tampering with evidence.
Lopez was sentenced to 35 years in prison, court records indicate.
He is charged along with Carlos Alberto Lopez, 22, and Michael Rodriguez, 35.
Each man faces a count of murder and a count of tampering with evidence.
They have pleaded not guilty.
On the day of the shooting, police found a white vehicle that had crashed with two other vehicles. Officers found Barrera slumped over in one vehicle with a gunshot wound.
Investigators previously said Barrera was driving when he was shot and a number of shell casings were found at the scene.
The tampering with evidence charge stems from the trio trying to hide a motor vehicle with the “intent to impair its availability as evidence in any subsequent investigation or official proceeding related to the offense,” according to the indictment.
Hector Hugo Lopez remains in the Cameron County Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center without bond now that he has pleaded guilty.
Carlos Alberto Lopez and Michael Rodriguez also remain in custody on $1,015,000 bonds apiece on the murder charge.
