Zetas leader formally charged with organized crime

MEXICO CITY | ZETAS

The purported head of Zeta operations in Reynosa was formally charged with organized crime and firearms violations, Mexico's attorney general's office said Monday.

A federal judge in Mexico City ordered that Jaime "El Hummer" González Durán remain in custody pending trial.

Federal authorities arrested González during a series of Nov. 7 raids in Reynosa and later fought off Cartel gunmen who chased them to the city's airport as they attempted to fly him out of the city.

The raids also uncovered the largest cache of illegal weapons ever found in Mexico. Investigators believe the weapons belonged to González's organization, which was stocking up on fire- and manpower in an effort to assert control over their territory, according to an FBI intelligence memo issued in October.

González - believed to be an original leader of the Gulf Cartel's enforcement wing, Los Zetas - is among the most wanted drug traffickers in Mexico and the United States.

He is expected to face charges in his own country but may eventually be extradited north of the border, where he has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to smuggle drugs across the border.

STARR COUNTY | BURNED BODY

Deputies continue to try and identify a severely burned body that was found Saturday morning on a ranch near Rio Grande City.

Investigators have collected DNA samples from the body and possible relatives of the man, found in a tan Ford Ranger about two miles west of Rio Grande City, said Starr County Sheriff Rene Fuentes.

An autopsy was set to be performed Monday that may offer more details about the body's identity.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Starr County Sheriff's Department at (956) 487-5571.

EDINBURG | MURDER PLEA

A man accused of fatally shooting a romantic rival during a high-speed car chase north of Mercedes pleaded guilty to murder charges last week.

Juan Heriberto Treviño Pineda, 35, was sentenced to 20 years in prison under a plea deal finalized Thursday.

Prosecutors allege Treviño chased after Saul Antonio Lopez Garmendia's Dodge Neon on April 20 while another man shot at Lopez's car from the passenger seat.

Three bullets struck Lopez, 27, before he lost control of his vehicle near the intersection of Mile 1 Road West and Mile 11 Road North.

Treviño and Lopez had previously fought over the latter man's ex-girlfriend, who the former man had been dating at the time of Lopez's death, according to a criminal complaint filed in his case.

Treviño's alleged accomplice - Jaime Luna Ybarra, 35 - has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is set to take his case before a jury next month.

Treviño will be eligible for parole in 2018.

EDINBURG | MURDER TRIAL

The trial of a man accused in the 2006 murder of a teen mother is expected to resume next week, after a five-day break.

Visiting Judge Jaime Garza halted proceedings Friday in Juan Tello Hinojosa's case because of a previously scheduled appointment that prevents him from attending court this week. Jurors are expected to reconvene Monday.

Prosecutors believe that Hinojosa and two other men beat, shot and then burned 16-year-old Aida Mae Rodriguez to death in November 2006 and then dumped her infant child along a busy Weslaco roadway.

Farmers found Rodriguez's charred corpse in a sugar cane field south of Donna. Her child was later rescued by passersby unharmed.

If convicted, Hinojosa could face up to life in prison and $10,000 in fines.

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Monitor staff writers Jeremy Roebuck and Jared Taylor compiled this report.