Man fatally stabbed in Mercedes

MERCEDES -- A man who stopped to pay a quick visit to the family he once lived with for more than a year was fatally stabbed in their driveway as his friend's children peered out the windows.

Members of the Robledo family identified the victim as Abraham Garcia-Lopez, 26, an illegal immigrant from Cancun, Q.R., Mexico.

Police provided few details of the incident Thursday and refused to confirm the man's name, but friends said Garcia was repeatedly stabbed during a fight that broke out just before 10 p.m. in the driveway of their home at the corner of West 10th Street and South Indiana Avenue.

They suspect two men, including the boyfriend of Garcia's ex-girlfriend, followed Garcia to their home and, once there, attacked him and his friend Ignacio Robledo, 32, as the two talked in Robledo's driveway. One of the men threw Robledo to the ground while the other man stabbed Garcia at least twice with a weapon that appeared to be an ice pick, Garcia's friends recalled.

The assailants fled as Garcia lay wounded in the driveway, they said.

He died shortly after arriving at a local hospital, said Mercedes police Sgt. Hugo Ramos.

Officers are searching for the two attackers, whom Ramos described as "persons of interest." He refused to release a description of the men or their names.

Thursday afternoon, the Robledo family recounted the details of the slaying and remembered Garcia as a wonderful house guest.

"He was a very good person. He would take us to eat every week," said Robledo's 40-year-old wife, Yoko Mendoza. "To us, he was a very nice person."

Garcia lived with the family for about a year but then moved to Donna in spring 2007 after breaking up with his girlfriend at the time.

The Robledos believe he recently visited that ex-girlfriend and that they saw her current boyfriend outside their home Wednesday night.

As the sun set Thursday evening, Garcia's rusting white truck was still parked outside the family's home. A photo album on the front seat contained pictures of hot tubs and pools - Garcia was an independent contractor who laid concrete.

Mendoza, her husband, Robledo, and her 15-year-old son Josue Sarmienteo stood feet from where Garcia was killed. They showed little emotion, apparently still in shock from the night before.

"I'm a little freaked out. I saw him dying," Josue said. "He couldn't breathe."
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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.