U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Tuesday the arrest of a Mexican national on an arrest warrant tied to a 2015 homicide case, according to a news release.
CBP officers detained Javier Rodriguez Mendez on Sunday in the pedestrian lane at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge after biometric information on Rodriguez revealed the arrest warrant.
Rodriguez, 29, of Mission, is facing capital murder charges related to a 2015 homicide that was investigated by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, the release stated.
“Our ability to inspect and perform database queries on every person seeking entry into the United States has allowed our CBP officers to detect this person who was wanted on homicide charges,” David Gonzalez, port director of the Hidalgo, Pharr and Anzalduas ports of entry, said. “Having biometric verification tools at our disposal is an asset toward the identification of persons and allows us to assist our law-enforcement partners with the detection of fleeing felons.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Rodriguez is the second suspect arrested in connection with the 2015 case that took place the day after Christmas on Dario Street in a rural area of Mission, where two men were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
“… Twenty-four-year-old Rodrigo Villanueva Alvarez, who was living at the residence, and 43-year-old Juan Carmorlinga Torres, who allegedly went to the residence with four other suspects in an attempt to steal narcotics — the confrontation subsequently led to the exchange of gunfire between both parties,” sheriff’s officials said in a prepared statement.
The sheriff’s office identified Rodriguez, Ramon Aguilar Jr., 54, Alberto Garcia Ocañas, 40, and Guillermo Peña, 29, as the suspects who allegedly attempted to steal nearly 40 bundles of marijuana at the Dario Street residence where Villanueva and Carmorlinga were found dead.
Aguilar, who was arrested and then indicted in March 2016, pleaded guilty in November 2017 to a murder charge, and subsequently sentenced to a nearly 30-year prison term, county court records show.
Rodriguez was arraigned Monday on a capital murder charge, a first-degree felony, and had his bond set at $2 million, the release states.
Rodriguez remains in custody at the county jail, while the investigation continues into the other two men, Garcia, and Peña.
