Thread: TX - 3 charged after ambush at La Blanca cockfight that left 11 shot, 3 dead

3 charged after ambush at La Blanca cockfight that left 11 shot, 3 dead


April 21, 2012 12:21 AM

EDINBURG — Three people — including a married couple — face felony charges after masked gunmen ambushed a cockfight near La Blanca early Thursday morning.

Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Homer Jasso formally charged Leticia Leandro, 52, Heriberto Leandro, 51, and Humberto Blanco, 37, with cockfighting and engaging in organized criminal activity at an arraignment Friday afternoon at the county jail. Bond was set at $1 million each.

Sheriff's deputies have not arrested any of the gunmen who opened fire "indiscriminately" at the cockfight shortly after midnight Thursday.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said the shooters targeted two brothers — Edinburg residents Ramiro and Juan Santos Macias Garcia — amid the volley of rounds fired into the crowd of about 200 spectators at the cockfight.

Also slain in the attack was McAllen resident Arturo Buentello Garza, 42, believed to be an innocent bystander attending the cockfight.
"He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught the barrage of bullets," Treviño said.

Eight other men were shot in the attack, with five victims still hospitalized on Friday.

A recording of the 9-1-1 calls obtained by The Associated Press details the pandemonium that ensued when two to four masked gunmen opened fire at a cockfight near Edcouch, about 15 miles northeast of McAllen, where as many as 200 people were present.

"My husband is shot and he has a cellphone, but he says he was dying," said a woman on the 9-1-1 tape who had received a call from her wounded husband. "He says he doesn’t know exactly where he’s at. I think he ran."

The man was critically wounded, but survived.

Another woman called as she was escaping the shooting. She tried to explain the location.

"We had to take off, ma’am," she told the dispatcher. "We have kids. There was a machine gun. There’s everything, ma’am. There’s a shootout."

Blanco is accused of operating an elaborate cockfighting operation south of Mile 20 North on Jesus Flores Road, a dirt route that cuts through the remote fields of northeast Hidalgo County.

Heriberto Leandro and Leticia Leandro, husband and wife, own the property where the cockfights occurred, Treviño said. They were not present during Thursday’s early morning attack.

The cockfighting operation did not take a share of bets placed on the sparring roosters. Rather, the organizers collected entrance fees and proceeds from concessions sold at the events.

The cockfighting venue featured a metal awning with several palenques — cockfighting rings — bleachers, a rooster weigh-in room, concession stand and tournament brackets that tracked the best birds.

Treviño said much of the evidence was destroyed in the ambush, with hundreds of spectators trampling over the three bodies, bullet casings and other footprints that could have helped build the case.

"This was the crime scene from hell," the sheriff said Friday, echoing a previous description of the scene. "People were trampling over each other, over the dead.

"Why they indiscriminately sprayed the area with bullets, I don’t know."

The sheriff said investigators do not believe the shooters have ties to Mexico. Because they were masked, he said they likely were known to the victims and others attending the cockfight — and were out for revenge against the Garcia brothers, originally from Valle Hermoso, Tamps., after a previous drive-by shooting.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with a hit team coming in from Mexico," the sheriff said. "This is a strictly
local issue."

More suspects are expected to face arrest in the case. Treviño said a pair of men — including a prominent local businessman — with ties to the ring uncovered Thursday and who operate other cockfighting venues across Hidalgo County could be taken into custody next week.
"They are responsible for this," he said.

Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The sheriff said smaller operations have been busted in recent months, but it remains a popular underground — if not violent — pastime across South Texas.

Thursday’s ambush — it remains unclear whether anyone returned fire — near La Blanca was not the first cockfight where the humans resorted to violence, either. Three men were injured when they exchanged gunfire at a 2008 cockfight near Alton.

"It is a magnet for criminality," he said.

Cockfighting is a state jail felony that carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Combined with engaging in organized criminal activity, the two criminal charges against the three suspects are enhanced to a third-degree felony that has a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, Treviño said.

Misdemeanor charges are expected to be filed against the eight men shot while at the cockfight. State law prohibits visiting a cockfight, as well.

The sheriff lamented Thursday morning’s ambush, saying it may have been prevented, had neighbors reported it to authorities sooner. Neighbors have said the cockfighting operation held events at least once a week for several years.

"We would have acted because it’s against the law," Treviño said.

LIST OF SUSPECTS AND VICTIMS


THE SUSPECTS:
>> Leticia Leandro, 52, charged with cockfighting and engaging in organized criminal activity, both state jail felonies


>> Heriberto Leandro, 51, charged with cockfighting and engaging in organized criminal activity, both state jail felonies


>> Humberto Blanco, 36, charged with cockfighting and engaging in organized criminal activity, both state jail felonies


THE VICTIMS:
>> Ramiro Macias Garcia, 49, of Edinburg, killed in the attack. U.S. permanent resident originally from Valle Hermoso, Tamps.

>> Juan Santos Macias Garcia, 53, of Edinburg, killed in the attack. U.S. permanent resident originally from Valle Hermoso, Tamps.

>> Arturo Buentello Garza, 42, of McAllen, killed in the attack. U.S. Citizen

>> Salvador Morales Jr., 28, of Edcouch. Remains hospitalized in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest. U.S. citizen

>> Jose Solis Chapa, 31, of La Blanca. Suffered gunshot wounds to his legs, released from hospital. Mexican national

>> Daniel Hernandez, 40, of McAllen. Remains hospitalized in stable condition. U.S. citizen

>> Arnoldo Luna, 49, of Edinburg. Remains hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot that grazed his head. Mexican national

>> Geraldo Castilla, 50, of Elsa. Relased from hospital. U.S. citizen
>> Manuel Sanchez Jr., 52, of Monte Alto. Released from hospital. U.S. citizen

>> Eloid Salazar, 44, of Hargill. Still hospitalized after surgery on a gunshot wound to his hand. Under deputy watch on a fugitive warrant. U.S. citizen

>> Oscar Garza, 57, of Hargill. Remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds to his legs. U.S. citizen

3 charged after cockfighting ambush | ambush, charged, cockfighting - TheMonitor.com

Background Stories

Gang drive-by shooting suspect arrested

December 01, 2009 7:14 PM

Jared Taylor
The Monitor

EDINBURG — Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man suspected in a drive-by shooting Saturday night that targeted a purported gang leader.

Deputies arrested Mark Anthony Arce, 17, on Monday at his Edinburg home, according to a statement from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.


Investigators collected evidence that led them to Arce, one of the Texas Chicano Brotherhood gang members suspected of playing a role in the shooting of 36-year-old Jose “Killer” Garcia, who once held a high-ranking position within the rival Tri-City Bombers gang.

Garcia is now believed to be the leader of a smaller criminal group known as Brown Pride.

Investigators continue to try to identify three other people inside the vehicle from which the shots were fired at Garcia.

Saturday’s incident is at least the fourth drive-by shooting in the past month in Lopezville — a colonia between Edinburg and San Juan — involving suspected Texas Chicano Brotherhood members.

On Nov. 5, suspected members of the Brotherhood allegedly killed an 18-year-old associated with the rival Sureño gang during a series of drive-by shootings that Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said erupted over a graffiti dispute.

Investigators have said the four attackers in Saturday’s shooting drove by Garcia’s house at least twice in a dark-blue, four-door Jeep, screaming profanities before they shot at him with a 20-gauge shotgun and a .40-caliber pistol.

Garcia was struck once in the chest. His wife suffered a minor pellet wound to her lower lip. Both were treated and released from Edinburg Regional Medical Center that same day.

Arce is set to be arraigned today on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction.

Treviño said the teen has an extensive criminal record that includes two arrests on aggravated robbery charges, one arrest on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four arrests on charges of burglary of a vehicle and one arrest on a graffiti charge.

Gang drive-by shooting suspect arrested | suspect, arrested, drive - Now - TheMonitor.com


Sheriff's deputies identify second suspect in drive-by shooting

December 03, 2009 12:27 AM

Ana Ley
The Monitor
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies identified a second suspect in the weekend shooting of a purported local gang leader.
Authorities believe Jesse I. Ortega, 21, was part of a group that opened fire on 36-year-old Jose “Killer” Garcia, who once held a high-ranking position with the Tri-City Bombers gang. Garcia identified Ortega, also known as “J.O.,” through a photo lineup, according to a statement from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Witness statements and a signed affidavit from Garcia indicate Ortega was driving the vehicle used during the attack.
On Monday, deputies arrested Edinburg resident Mark Anthony Arce, 17, in connection with the shooting. Deputies are also searching for a third suspect known only as “Danny Boy.”
All three suspects are purported gang members of the rival Texas Chicano Brotherhood gang.
Story Continues At;
Sheriff’s deputies identify second suspect in drive-by shooting | sheriff, deputies, shooting - Now - TheMonitor.com



Man charged after gang-fueled shooting in downtown McAllen

December 09, 2010 7:16 PM
McALLEN — A 19-year-old man turned himself in to police after a gang-fueled shooting early Sunday morning near the city’s entertainment district.

Robert Jason Garcia, 19, faced four counts of aggravated assault at an arraignment Wednesday night in McAllen Municipal Court.
Garcia turned himself in to McAllen police investigators Monday after gunshots rang out early Sunday morning on the 400 block of South Bicentennial Boulevard, according to court records.

A woman told investigators she was with her husband and friends at La Terraza night club, 1609 W. Chicago Ave., about 10 p.m. Saturday, according to a criminal complaint. Police blacked out their names from the complaint.

• Read the criminal complaint in the case

Unnamed witnesses told investigators they saw Garcia, a known Valluco gang member, get into an argument with a rival gang member at the night club, according to the complaint.

The argument did not escalate inside the bar. The two groups confronted each other again outside the club about 1:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the complaint.

As the woman, her husband and friends walked toward their gray Ford Expedition parked outside, Garcia and two other men confronted the rival group, flashing gang signs and saying they had a gun. Garcia’s group walked away. The others got into the Expedition.

As the woman’s group drove off in the Expedition, one of the other passengers rolled down their window and yelled “Puro Po’ Boy!” at Garcia and his fellow gang members, who yelled back that they were Valluco members, the complaint states.

The Expedition pulled away, drove around downtown and eventually a newer model red pickup truck pulled up beside it along Bicentennial Boulevard. One of the red truck’s passengers yelled “South Side,” referring to the Po’Boy gang, before the driver of the pickup truck leaned out and fired four shots into the Expedition, the complaint states.

One of the male passengers in the Expedition was hit in the face. Another took a shot to the neck, knocking him unconscious.
The driver lost control of the Expedition and crashed through a stop sign at the southeast corner of Bicentennial and Erie Avenue. Another passenger took the wheel and drove the victims to McAllen Medical Center for treatment.

Detectives investigating the case found Garcia, who voluntarily went to the McAllen Police Department and told a story that aligned with the woman in the Expedition.

Garcia told investigators that after the driver, known only as “El Guero,” fired four shots at the Expedition, he handed the gun to him.
Despite his verbal recollection of Sunday morning’s events, Garcia refused to give a written confession or identify his fellow gang brothers involved in the shooting, according to the complaint.
Garcia’s bond was set at $1 million for the aggravated assault charges at an arraignment hearing Wednesday evening. He remained at the Hidalgo County Jail on Thursday.

Garcia pleaded guilty to evading arrest in June 2009 and received a 30-day jail sentence, according to court records. He had received deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge in December 2008.
Man charged after gang-fueled shooting in downtown McAllen | mcallen, gang, shooting - Now - TheMonitor.com