McAllen man charged with contract killing

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Authorities urge anyone with information on the whereabouts of suspect Esteban Martinez to contact the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at (956) 668-8477.

EDINBURG — Jorge Luis Gonzalez Ramirez and Eduardo Talavera Jimenez thought they could escape powerful enemies in Mexico by fleeing to Houston.

Instead, they ended up shot and left for dead.

On Tuesday, authorities charged Jose Luis Benavidez Lopez, 35, of McAllen, with accepting money to kill the Mexican nationals.

But it remains a mystery who exactly ordered the hit and what prompted the Nov. 1 attack that killed Ramirez and critically injured Jimenez, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

“Our victims apparently did something to somebody in Mexico,” he said. “We have not verified exactly what happened though.”

Soon after the attack, Jimenez stumbled to a home near the intersection of North Val Verde and Earling roads. He was bleeding and pleading for help, according to the probable cause affidavit in Lopez’s case.

After searching the area, deputies found Ramirez’s body hidden in an orchard northwest of Donna. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.

Jimenez later told investigators that the pair met a coyote at a McAllen Whataburger earlier that evening and paid him $2,000 to smuggle them to Houston.

The man drove them to a nearby mechanic’s shop where they were introduced to Lopez and an accomplice, Esteban Martinez, 32, of Mission.

Believing the men to be human smugglers, Ramirez and Jimenez got into Lopez’s car and rode to a secluded area in Donna. But their trip ended abruptly.

Martinez allegedly shot both men multiple times from the front seat and later dumped their bodies in the orchard, the probable cause affidavit states.

“It appears that this was a setup all the way,” the sheriff said. “It would be a heck of a coincidence if the coyotes that brought them here weren’t in on the contract (for the killing).”

Deputies arrested Lopez on Saturday. He later told them he had been paid $3,800 in Mexico for the attack. He said he did not know why the hit had been ordered on the men, the affidavit states.

Investigators are looking into reports that the attack on Ramirez and Jimenez was tied to a murder in Mexico or the theft of several pounds of cocaine.

“But we have not verified any of the rumors,” Treviño said.

Lopez has been charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder for his role in the attacks. Martinez remains at large.

He is described as a 5-foot-6-inch Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes and weighing about 210 pounds.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.