Man shot during home invasion near Palmview

NEAR PALMVIEW — A man sustained a gunshot wound to his hand Wednesday during a home invasion that led to his brother’s arrest on a drug charge.

Jose Alaniz, 32, looked out the window of his home early Wednesday morning and saw a red, late-model GMC pickup truck with chrome rims and a man and woman inside, according to a statement from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

The man got out of the pickup and began knocking on the door of Alaniz’s trailer home on Joshua Drive, sheriff’s deputies said. The man began to pound harder and claimed he was the police. Alaniz slowly opened the door, and the man — holding a pistol in each hand — pushed his way into the home.

As the interloper closed the door, one of his pistols fired, striking Alaniz in his right hand, deputies said. The injured man’s brother, Alberto Alaniz, witnessed the shooting. The home invader ran outside to the truck and fled with the woman, who was behind the wheel.

“The home invaders knew these guys were dealing (drugs) street-level,” Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. “They figured it would have been a good opportunity for them but it didn’t work out that way.”

Jose Alaniz drove himself to McAllen Medical Center for treatment.

Deputies who arrived at the scene arrested Alberto Alaniz, who allegedly had several small bags of marijuana and admitted to being a street-level pot dealer, deputies said.

Jose Alaniz has been released from the hospital and will not face criminal charges.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.