|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A 21-year-old Weslaco woman charged in a fatal attempted kidnapping of two Mercedes men is back in custody after skipping out on a July court hearing in her murder case.
Esmeralda Lee Orozco was booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday, records show.
Esmeralda Lee Orozco, who is charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence, two counts of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, failed to show at a July 22 hearing.
She’s charged with murder for the Feb. 23, 2023 death of 19-year-old Carlos Garcia Ruiz, who was accidentally shot by one of his alleged co-conspirators during the attempted kidnapping that he planned.
The details of her arrest weren’t immediately clear.
Esmeralda Lee Orozco is charged along with her sister, 18-year-old Weslaco resident Ashley Dinhora Evelin Orozco, 20-year-old Mission resident Joselyn Gabriela Lomeli, 22-year-old Alamo resident Gerson Escobar Orellana, and 18-year-old Mission resident Rosalba Sarahi Ruiz Garcia, who was Carlos Garcia Ruiz’s girlfriend.
They are all facing the same charges.
However, Orellana pleaded guilty on July 29 to aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to seven years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Additionally, court records indicate Lomeli And Rosalba Sarahi Ruiz Garcia pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced next Wednesday.
The aggravated kidnapping attempt happened at approximately 3:46 a.m. at 6833 Vera Lane in rural Mercedes.
One of the men told investigators that two masked men armed with rifles showed up at his house and pointed the gun at his head.
“One of the men pushed a gun against the back of (his) head with the butt of the rifle causing the rifle to go off and strike the second male subject,” a probable cause affidavit stated.
The other man said that two women and three armed men showed up at the home, including one who pushed a gun to the back of his head and put him into a truck face down until a gunshot went off. Then the man told him to get out and walk away slowly or else he’d shoot him, according to probable cause affidavits.
That man also said one of the women took his friend’s red 2014 Ford Fusion.
While the investigation was unfolding, deputies learned that Carlos Garcia Ruiz had been brought to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead there.
Rosalba Sarahi Ruiz Garcia and Lomeli had dropped him off and during interviews, both admitted to their involvement in the aggravated kidnapping attempt planned by Carlos Garcia Ruiz.
Investigators learned that Esmer Lee Orozco and Ashley Dinhora Evelin Orozco planned to meet up with one of the attempted kidnapping victims to “hook up.”
“He sent Esmer his address,” the affidavit stated.
Lomeli, Rosalba Sarahi Ruiz Garcia and Ashley Dinhora Evelin Orozco are out on bond. Esmeralda Lee Orozco, who was previously out on bond, does not currently have one.
She and her sister have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Orellano is not eligible for parole until Sept. 14, 2026.
