Crime briefs
McALLEN | CAR JACKING
Police continue to search for a man wanted in connection with a carjacking Friday.
Investigators believe Rene Garcia Sandoval, 31, confronted the driver of a 1999 Infinity SUV just before 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Oakland Avenue and South Bicentennial Boulevard. After allegedly brandishing a gun, Sandoval purportedly ordered the man out of his vehicle and drove away from the scene.
Efforts to arrest him led to a chase that ended in the Mission area early Monday morning, but Sandoval managed to escape on foot, police said.
He is described as a 5-foot-7 Hispanic male, weighing approximately 160 pounds. He is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Authorities urge anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact McAllen CrimeStoppers at (956) 687-8477.
McALLEN | DRUG PLEA
Three Mission residents accused of conspiring to mail marijuana to New York have each pleaded guilty in federal court.
U.S. Postal Inspectors arrested Esmeralda Balderas, 36 and Ramiro Vasquez, 37, after they attempted to mail a package filled with more than 13 pounds of the drug from a post office in Mission.
When questioned, both told investigators that they had been offered $200 from another man — Luis Rodriguez, 47 — to drop the packages in the mail, according to a criminal complaint filed in their case.
Rodriguez purportedly confessed to have moved to the Valley from Puerto Rico for the sole purpose of mailing narcotics.
All three now face up to five years in prison at sentencing hearings scheduled for later this year.
EDINBURG | RIOT PLEA
A 17-year-old student at Buell Central High School in Pharr pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of riot participation.
Julio Cesar Garcia was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $248 fine for his role in a Nov. 5 melee that pitted groups of two rival gangs against one another and resulted in an assault on a security officer.
Investigators believe the fight broke out on the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district campus during an argument between members of the East Siders and Po’Boys street gangs.
In all, officers arrested 11 students, five of whom were tried as adults. All have since entered guilty pleas, except for one student — Jesus Rosas Rodriguez Jr. — who saw his charges dismissed earlier this year.
EDINBURG | MURDER PLEA
A Donna teen arrested in connection with the 2008 slaying of a 16-year-old gang member was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday.
Prosecutors claim Julio Cesar Rojas was one of four teen members of the Sureños street gang, who allegedly shot Oscar Jimenez on Oct. 20, 2008, while Jimenez was biking through a park near the intersection of 25th Street and Lissner Avenue in Donna.
Investigators believe Jimenez was a member of the rival group the Texas Chicano Brotherhood.
Because he was a juvenile at the time of his arrest, Rojas had to be certified as an adult to stand trial for his role in the crime.
EDINBURG | ASSAULT PLEA
Three teens charged in a December attack on an Alton police officer were sentenced to five years in prison Feb. 22.
Jesus Salinas, 17, Jose Salinas, 19, and Adrian Lopez, 17, each pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a public servant, stemming from allegations they beat up the officer responding to a disturbance call near the intersection of Nixon Avenue and Linares Street.
A pregnant woman ran up to the group and tried to break up the fight. The officer suffered only minor injuries from the attack.
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Monitor staff writer Jeremy Roebuck compiled this report.
