Thread: Two arrested in connection with recent violence

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Two arrested in connection with recent violence
August 11, 2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer


EDINBURG — Two 16-year-olds were arrested Thursday in connection with a 24-hour mini crime wave in western Hidalgo County that included two home invasions, a drive-by shooting and a sexual assault.

The teens, whose names were withheld because of their age, were arrested Thursday shortly after noon, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. He plans to ask Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra to charge the two as adults. They are the only suspects in the case.

"They picked the homes at random; they weren’t targeting anyone," he said. "I don’t think I have seen a case perpetrated by juveniles with this level of viciousness and violence."

All of the crimes happened in the Palmview and La Joya areas, Treviño said, declining to give the addresses for the crimes.

The crime spree began 7:49 a.m. Wednesday when the teens busted into a home waving what victims described as AK-47 assault rifles, Treviño said during a press conference Thursday.

Twelve hours later, the two struck again.

This time, they invaded a home and sexually assaulted a woman at the house, said the sheriff.

Just three hours, later the teens fired the assault rifles at an acquaintance of theirs as they drove by, he said. The acquaintance did help investigators track down the suspects.

"We believe they were escalating in violence," Treviño said. "We thought it would escalate to the point that someone would be killed."

Shortly after the shooting, Treviño called two of his captains and asked them to put together 25 deputies to hunt the two suspects down.

The 25 officers from the special crimes, robbery, homicide and other divisions fanned out at 6 a.m. Thursday in the western part of Hidalgo County to look for an older-model white Pontiac Les Mans.

They also contacted the La Joya school district, where at least one of the teens is a student, and Palmview police, which is handling a report of two teens invading a home earlier this week. They are investigating whether the teens arrested Thursday may be involved, Treviño said.

The deputies arrested one of the teens at a house on Grindalia Street, near the intersection of Brushline Road and 7 Mile Line. The other teen was arrested walking just a few blocks away. The two provided officers with aliases.

Officers were searching the Grindalia Street home Thursday looking for bandanas and the assault rifles that the two teens are said to have used. One of the teens is an illegal immigrant and the other is part of a family that has been the subject of many criminal investigations, Treviño said.

A hearing to determine whether the two should be held in jail until their trial is scheduled for today. They will be charged with attempted murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

"We are going to make a personal case for these two individuals to be kept behind bars until their trial," the sheriff said.

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Andres R. Martinez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.



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Califonia High School students at the "walk out" 2006.

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Home invasion suspects to be held indefinitely
August 25,2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer


EDINBURG — A judge agreed Friday to hold two 16-year-olds indefinitely until a hearing to determine whether they can be tried as adults in connection with a home invasion that included a sexual assault.

The two, both of whom are from Mexico illegally, were arrested Aug. 10 in connection with a 24-hour crime wave in La Joya and Palmview. While preparing for today’s hearing, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said he discovered one of the teens lied about his age, and is in fact 19. His fingerprints matched that of a man who has been deported three times.

Treviño appeared at the closed court session today to ask the judge to hold the two based on the viciousness of the crime and the second teen’s actual status as an adult. The names of the two teens could not be released because they are still juveniles in the court system. Treviño and his deputies will ask the Mexican consulate to certify that one of the teens is actually and adult and present that to the Hidalgo county district attorney so they can ask for the two to be tried as adults. No date has been set for that hearing.

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More information emergies regarding recent home invasion arrests
August 25,2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer


EDINBURG — One of the teens arrested two weeks ago in connection with a series of home invasions that included a sexual assault lied about his age to authorities to avoid prosecution as an adult, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

The sheriff plans to submit evidence today proving the suspect is actually a 19-year-old adult and not the 16-year-old juvenile he claimed when he was arrested. His deputies discovered the teen’s actual age in prep work for a juvenile court hearing this morning in which Treviño plans to recommend that the teen and his 16-year-old accomplice be tried as adults.

The suspect’s fingerprints matched that of a 19-year-old Mexican national who had been previously deported for illegally entering the country, Treviño said.

In fact, Treviño said, the teen had illegally entered the country two other times under an alias and used a birth date saying he was a minor to avoid incarceration and prosecution for multiple illegal entries. Minors are simply returned home when apprehended at the border.

Treviño said the 16-year-old is also an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

The two suspects were arrested Aug. 10 in connection with a 24-hour crime wave in La Joya and Palmview that included three home invasions, a drive-by shooting and a sexual assault. Treviño said the teens entered the three homes with what victims identified as AK-47 assault rifles.

Treviño still would not release either teen’s name Thursday because they remained juveniles in the judicial system. He plans on challenging that in today’s hearing, which is closed to the public.

Palmview police continue to investigate whether the two were responsible for a failed home invasion early morning Aug. 9 before the crime wave began later that day at 8 a.m.

By 7 p.m., the two had already broken into another home and sexually assaulted a woman, Treviño said.

And three hours later they shot at an acquaintance from a car and missed.

A team of 25 sheriff’s deputies tracked the two teens to their homes near Brushline Road and 7 Mile Line, northwest of Palmview.

The two are each facing possible charges of attempted murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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Andres R. Martinez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.

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One of home invasion suspects has history of trouble
August 26,2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer


EDINBURG — A judge ordered two teenage Mexican nationals held until a hearing to determine whether they can be tried as adults in connection with three home invasions that included a sexual assault.

"We are working with the district attorney’s office to certify them as adults," Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. "We believe that they committed adult crimes and should face adult consequences."

The two, both of whom are illegally in the United States, were arrested Aug. 10 in connection with a 24-hour crime wave in La Joya and Palmview that included a drive-by shooting, three home invasions and the sexual assault. The suspects’ names were still not released Friday because they continue to be seen as juveniles in the courts.

But for the first time, Treviño said the two are suspected to be members of an unknown gang from southern Mexico that posed as police officers in the Upper Rio Grande Valley. The group, comprised of illegal aliens, disbanded after the two teens were arrested.

"We are trying to link them to other home invasions, but at this point we don’t have the evidence," the sheriff said.

While preparing for Friday’s hearing over the past couple weeks, two investigators assigned to the case discovered one of the teens may have lied about his age. His fingerprints match that of a 19-year-old man who has been deported three times.

Treviño appeared at the closed court session Friday to ask the judge to hold the two based on the viciousness of their alleged crimes and the second teen’s actual status as an adult.

"This kid is a real menace, a real thug," Treviño said. "He is someone we need to incapacitate now."

Juvenile Court Judge Maxine Longoria ordered the sheriff’s department to conduct a forensic dental exam to help determine the teen’s age, Treviño said.

But that test cannot give an exact age, only a range of ages, the sheriff said, so he plans to work with the Mexican consulate to certify that the teen is actually an adult.

The 19-year-old man that Treviño believes one of the suspects is has been arrested twice in Starr County and once in Alton.

He gave his real name and real birth date the first time he was deported, Treviño said. Then, in later arrests he altered his name and made himself at least two years younger.

By the time sheriff’s deputies arrested him on Aug. 10, he had used another illegal immigrant’s name and birth date, Treviño said.

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed the family of the teen whose identity was used and they admitted that their nephew had given the 19-year-old his date of birth and name to use as an alias.

No date has been yet been set for the teens’ next hearing.

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Andres R. Martinez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.