Botched Mission home invasion tied to money laundering

June 12, 2012 10:41 PM
Naxiely Lopez
The Monitor

MISSION — Police say they discovered a money laundering operation while investigating a botched home invasion and shooting at a house where a purported Mexican law enforcement official and his family lived illegally. Two gunmen walked up to the beige stucco house in the 2200 block of School Lane about 6:20 a.m. Tuesday and tried kicking in the front door, Mission police Chief Martin Garza said.

The 41-year-old homeowner woke up to the loud banging, looked out the window and saw the two armed men, police said. So he grabbed his .40-caliber handgun and shot once through the metal door from inside his home.

The assailants couldn’t kick in the door because it was reinforced with a wooden two-by-four so they responded with a barrage of gunshots as they fled, Garza said. They fired at least 19 rounds into the home — where the homeowner’s wife and teenage son and daughter lay asleep.

Police recovered multiple casings from a .45-caliber and a 9 mm handgun, Garza said. They could be seen strewn across the home’s front driveway and yard, while bullet holes riddled the home’ windows, walls and doors.

“We’re very fortunate that no one was injured during this incident,” Garza said.
Police received several calls from concerned neighbors who heard the gunfire, but none of them came from the victims, he added. Witnesses described one of the suspects as a bald man wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

“Were finding out there are actually other incidents that did take place, but went without report,” Garza said, refusing to be specific.

“They were not felonies,” he offered.

Investigators detained the homeowner after executing a search warrant at the home located near Sharyland High School, where they found about $51,000 in cash and other “high-priced items,” Garza said.

Officers also seized documentation implicating the homeowner in a money laundering scheme, he added, but did not release details about the case.
The homeowner told police he was once employed as a “judicial” or state police officer in Mexico, but authorities had yet to confirm that, Garza said.
It’s unclear if the case is tied to organized crime in Mexico.

“We’re still trying to determine who the money laundering is tied up with,” Garza said.

Police partnered with Texas Rangers and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they continued to investigate all angles of the case, he added.

Mission Police is leading the investigation into the shooting and money laundering operation, while ATF and ICE are reviewing possible federal offenses stemming from the family’s illegal status in the U.S.

A judge was expected to file criminal charges against the homeowner Wednesday, Garza said.

Meanwhile, police continued to search for the gunmen Tuesday evening.

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