The brother of the 22-year-old man who was shot and killed Oct. 14 after an armed confrontation at a Mission Stripes had shared his live location that day with a friend who is now wanted by the sheriff’s office on charges of murder and attempted murder.
That friend is 27-year-old Mission resident Obed Peña, who has warrants for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of Leonardo Veliz, 22, and for shooting 21-year-old Emmanuel Veliz, who is the one who shared the live location before the armed confrontation and subsequent shooting.
A probable cause affidavit reveals that on the day of the shooting Peña was with 21-year-old Mission resident Jose Maria Victoria Jr., who is in custody and charged with murder and attempted murder.
“(Emmanuel) further advised that prior to going to the Stripes Store he had sent a live location to his friend ‘Brats’ identified as Obed Peña. (Emmanuel) went on to advise that he had received a call from Victoria who advised him that he was in Peña’s truck, the silver Dodge Ram, and was going to drop it off with Peña,” the affidavit states.
That document does not indicate whether Victoria was dropping something off for Emmanuel or whether the Dodge Ram would be dropped off.
“(Emmanuel) stated that no one knew where they were without the use of the live location sent to Peña,” the affidavit states.
While at the Stripes store on FM 492 and State Highway 107, Emmanuel told investigators that Victoria, aka “Miklo,” tried to assault his brother Leonardo with a brown handgun as Victoria exited the Dodge Ram, according to the affidavit.
“(Emmanuel) informed investigators that after the incident at the Stripes they chased the truck to the area of 6 Mile Line and Bentsen Palm Drive where they were shot at by people inside the silver Dodge Ram where he and his brother were struck,” the affidavit states. “A friend of theirs was able to shoot back at the truck, which ended the confrontation.”
At around 3:32 p.m. that day, sheriff’s deputies responded to the area and made contact with an employee from a nearby drive-thru who said she saw a gray truck and a dark colored Nissan across the street.
“She noticed a male subject lying on the ground and noticed that the Nissan Versa had the back window broken with what appeared to be bullet holes,” the affidavit states.
The brothers were transported to a hospital in Mission where Leonardo died before Emmanuel was taken to DHR in Edinburg for further medical treatment.
The affidavit for the murder and attempted murder case doesn’t identify who the friend of Emmanuel and Leonardo’s that shot back at Victoria and Peña is, but a probable cause affidavit for 19-year-old Jonathan Mora on a charge of tampering with evidence indicates that individual is 21-year-old Peñitas resident Rolando Tovar Sanchez.
That affidavit describes Sanchez as a third victim to the shooting.
Sanchez, Mora and 18-year-old Mission resident Angel Mata are all charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence over allegations they helped Emmanuel and Leonardo get rid of the guns used in the shooting.
As of deadline, online jail records do not reflect that Peña has been arrested and the sheriff’s office had not announced an arrest.
Victoria, who declined to give investigators a statement after his arrest, remains jailed on $2 million in bonds while Sanchez, Mora and Mata each remain in jail on a $75,000 bond.
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