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The 26-year-old Mission man who was accused of shooting and killing his friend’s boyfriend in July has been indicted in the case.
Esdras Elias Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge.
Ortiz is accused of killing 27-year-old Yorman Jovani Reta who sustained gunshot wounds to the head and left side of his body.
Reta and his girlfriend, Jessica Lee Herrera, had been washing dishes on the evening of July 1 when Ortiz knocked on the side door of her residence, located in the 2800 block of Dinastia Dorado in Mission.
Herrera told police that she had heard a sudden argument followed by several gunshots after Reta had gone to check who was knocking.
When she walked outside she saw Reta on the “ground with gunshot wounds and barely breathing,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
She also told police that Ortiz had continued advancing towards Reta to shoot him again but managed to get him to leave.
Police also found six spent 9mm casings in the vicinity of the shooting.
Authorities found Ortiz at a secondary location, 1510 Judy St. in Mission where he told police he had shot Reta in self defense and handed police a 9mm Glock 26.
Police obtained a surveillance video for one of the neighbor’s surveillance cameras that showed Ortiz walking away from Reta before turning around to shoot him.
Ortiz remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a $150,000 cash surety bond, jail records show.
