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A Pharr man has pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his 24-year-old stepson because he owed him money, according to court records.
Jose Asencion Hernandez, 46, was convicted of murdering Agustin Jose Andres Vela on Aug. 3, 2021, and was scheduled to be formally sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday.
He reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Tuesday and pleaded guilty, court records show.
Hernandez was arrested within two hours of the shooting which happened in the 700 block of West Coyote Trail at around 11 a.m.
A probable cause affidavit stated that Hernandez shot Vela in the chest because he owed him money and it happened when they were drinking beer outside a friend’s residence.
Multiple witnesses told police that Hernandez was upset and had accused Vela of keeping $70 from a check he cashed for payment for work they did setting up stages in either Dallas or Houston, according to a Pharr Police Department offense report.
“Agustin had told Jose that he didn’t get paid the money and Jose began getting upset,” the offense report stated.
The money Hernandez believed was owed was payment for one of his sons who worked on the job, according to the offense report.
Hernandez was already upset from a previous incident with a friend that day and left the residence he was drinking at only to return with a long gun, according to the affidavit.
A witness at the scene told police that Vela was standing close to the home lighting a cigarette when he saw Hernandez go to his vehicle where the gun was and proceed to shoot Vela, the affidavit said.
The witness said he ran to Vela when he saw blood pouring out of his left shoulder and then told Hernandez to leave the residence.
Hernandez received credit for three years he has spent in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center since his arrest.
Staff writer Mark Reagan contributed to this report.
