A 31-year-old Pharr man accused of shooting and killing his roommate is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon to request a bond reduction.
Gregory Alexander Ortega has been jailed since April 2, 2018, on charges of murder, tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair human corpse, tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
He’s been held on $1.4 million in bonds since his arrest.
Ortega is accused of killing 32-year-old Arnulfo Gaitan on March 28, 2018.
Gaitan’s family told investigators Ortega portrayed himself as a brother to Gaitan, according to a criminal complaint.
In the motion, his defense attorney, Lucia Regalado, says his bond is excessive and attempts by his family and friends to raise the money to bail the man out have been unsuccessful.
The motion also says the man has substantial ties to the community, including family.
A criminal complaint alleges Ortega shot Gaitan in the head sometime between March 28 and March 30. The charging document notes that when “people would walk up to the house he would crack the front door slightly and when asked about the victim he would tell them that the victim was not at home and then closed the door.”
The indictment alleges the crime happened on March 28, 2018.
Ortega, who waived his Miranda rights, implicated himself in the shooting, according to the criminal complaint.
That document says Ortega told investigators that after the shooting he “got scared and hid the body and began to clean up evidence in the house.”
The shooting happened at a residence in the 1000 block of Tulip Drive.
