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A murder charge against a 27-year-old Mission man for a fatal McAllen shooting has been dismissed because there is insufficient evidence to support the charge.
Luis Mondragon had been booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on March 27 after McAllen police found he was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
His attorney, Samuel Reyes, said in an email that his client was released from the county jail on Wednesday morning.
Reyes also provided a copy of the dismissal order, which was signed by McAllen Municipal Court Judge Ricardo Montalvo on Tuesday.
Prosecutors with the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office filed the motion to dismiss the complaint against Mondragon.
Mondragon, who was not initially identified as a suspect by McAllen police, was arrested March 25 and had remained jailed on a $500,000 bond until Wednesday.
McAllen police initially identified Eliezer Morales and Jose Geovani Ipina-Rosales as suspects in the fatal Dec. 19, 2023 shooting of 25-year-old Raymundo Martinez Gutierrez, of Honduras.
He was found at approximately 8:07 p.m. that day after crashing his vehicle into a building following the shooting.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez previously described the crime as a domestic disturbance.
Morales’ last known address is in McAllen and Ipina-Rosales is believed to be from Mexico. Neither are in custody, county jail records indicate.
Police allege that Morales and Ipina-Rosales chased Martinez in a white Ford Expedition, cut him off in his silver Mazda 3 and shot him from the front passenger side of the vehicle.
Investigators believe the victim and suspects knew each other.
