Thread: Toddler killed in drive-by shooting & Two Men Arrested

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw....23c17ea1.html
08:43 AM CDT on Friday, May 26, 2006
By DON WALL / WFAA-TV

Family photo
Eva Maria Gallegos Also Online

Don Wall reports


FARMERS BRANCH — Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a drive-by shooting that left a toddler dead.

Just before midnight Thursday, shots riddled a house in the 2600 block of Overland Drive.

One of the bullets struck 18-month old Eva Maria Gallegos in the head. She was pronounced dead at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

"Right now, police are looking for a small red four-door, possibly a Nissan Sentra," said Farmers Branch director of communications Tom Bryson. "Investigators are trying to get more information at this point, but anyone with any information about this crime needs to call the Farmers Branch Police Department at 972-484-3620."

Eva's father, Jesus Gallegos, told News 8 that he was in the house with the child's grandfather and several uncles when the shots rang out.

Gallegos said he had been released from prison about three weeks ago after serving an 15-month sentence. He would not say anything about the crime for which he was convicted.

Gallegos said he didn't have any problems with anybody and was just trying to start a new life with his baby girl.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...ting.6f68.html
Two men arrested in drive-by shooting are acquaintances of slain 1-year-old's father

10:25 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 14, 2006
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News

For the last three weeks, Jesus Gallegos has struggled to understand why his 18-month-old daughter, Eva, died at the hands of a drive-by shooter who unloaded more than a dozen rounds toward his house.

But when two Farmers Branch police officers showed up at his door Wednesday with some good news – two men had been arrested in his daughter's case – the photos of the men shocked him and left him with even more questions.

"They were in front of my face Saturday afternoon," said Mr. Gallegos, 35. "I couldn't believe it. They shook my hand."

Mr. Gallegos met Lorenzo Razo-Conejo, 25, of Dallas and David Alejandro Macias, 25, of Carrollton while they were hanging out at the same apartment complex pool the past weekend.

Mr. Razo-Conejo and Mr. Macias were arrested Wednesday at their homes and face charges of capital murder in Eva's death. Both are believed to be illegal immigrants and have been reported to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Farmers Branch city spokesman Tom Bryson said that Mr. Macias was arrested without incident, but that Mr. Razo-Conejo ran from police before being arrested by Farmers Branch and Dallas officers.

When authorities executed a search warrant on Mr. Razo-Conejo's home, an assault rifle believed to have been used in the shooting was found, Mr. Bryson said.

Investigators believe Mr. Razo-Conejo was driving a 2003 Ford F-150 pickup about 11:45 p.m. May 25 when Mr. Macias fired at least 13 shots into the Gallegos house in the 2600 block of Overland Drive near Josey Lane. Eva, who was in bed, was shot in the head and died at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

Mr. Gallegos said his only connection to Mr. Razo-Conejo and Mr. Macias is that both men work with his brother in a distribution center. He ran into them again Saturday at the apartment complex, where he had gone after watching a boxing match.

"I talked to them. Not really conversations, but we'd say, 'Hello, what's up?' " Mr. Gallegos said.

Mr. Gallegos said he and his brother do not know why their family was targeted.

Eva's death came less than a month after Mr. Gallegos was paroled from a Texas prison after serving time for two methamphetamine possession convictions. He said Eva initially had a hard time becoming familiar with him.

"At first, she didn't really know me. But after a week ... we played all the time," Mr. Gallegos said. "She's the kind of girl every father would love. She didn't cry or nothing. She was happy all the time."

When he heard gunfire outside his home the night Eva died, Mr. Gallegos went outside to check the damage. When he came back inside, Eva's eyes were open, and she appeared to be smiling.

But when her father picked her up, blood poured from the back of Eva's head.

Mr. Gallegos said he is thrilled two men had been arrested. But he said that he can't believe he met the two men and that they showed no unusual behavior.

"They knew whose house they were shooting in, I believe," he said.