Gunman accused of killing five neighbors — including a nine-year-old boy — when they asked him to stop shooting in Texas backyard faces DEATH PENALTY after being charged with capital murder
- Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested on May 2 and has been detained for more than two months
- He is now charged with capital murder, allowing Texas to seek the death penalty
- District Attorney Todd Dillon has not yet determined whether his office will
The undocumented gunman charged with killing five neighbors, including a nine-year-old boy, in San Jacinto County faces the death penalty after a grand jury indicted him on Friday for manslaughter.
Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested on May 2. The Mexican has been behind bars for about two months on a $ 7.5 million bail.
He has already been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, one charge for each victim he allegedly shot in a mass shooting on his block.
The murders were reportedly the result of a growing feud between neighbors after the defendant’s dog killed some of the family’s sheep and chickens. Houston Chronicle reports.
Friday’s capital murder charge allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case, District Attorney Todd Dillon has not yet determined whether his office will.
Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested on May 2. He has been behind bars for about two months on $7.5 million bail.
“We have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty because the defense has not had an opportunity to present any mitigating evidence for the state to consider,” Dillon said. CNN.
“We will certainly give them a chance to do that before they make that decision.”
Oropesa’s attorney Anthony Osso said in May that he fully expected the district attorney’s office to upgrade the charge to capital murder.
Two other arrests were made after Oropesa’s. Divina Lamar Nava – Oropesa’s housemate – was charged with obstructing the apprehension of a felon, and according to the prosecutor, she was at the scene when Oropesa was arrested and is accused of aiding him.
One of the suspect’s friends, Domingo Castilla, was also arrested for possession of marijuana. He is also suspected of helping the alleged gunman flee the neighborhood.
Initial reports after the late-night shooting painted a picture of Oropesa’s neighbors — a family of ten who all lived together — asking him to stop firing his gun because they were trying to put a baby to sleep.
Oropesa, who was known to often fire his shotgun in his yard, replied “I’ll do what I want in my front yard” and shot five members of the family with an AR-15 before fleeing.
When police arrived on the scene, they found two adult women dead in front of the house and a man dead in the living room.
Law enforcement remove bodies from a scene where five people were shot the night before Saturday, April 29, 2023
Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, age nine, was Oropesa’s youngest victim
The alleged shooter was flanked by armed law enforcement officers as he walked into the courthouse Thursday morning
Two of Oropesa’s victims, who lived in the house next door
Sonia Guzman and Daniel Enrique Lazo were two other victims of Oropesa. Daniel was only nine years old when he was killed
Diana Velasquez was another of Oropesa’s victims. All victims are said to be from Honduras and ten lived at the house
Oropesa was said to have been drunk at the time of the shooting
Two other arrests were made after Oropesa – his roommate and his friend – both of whom are believed to have tried to help him flee.
According to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, the two women were covered in blood and lay on top of two young children who survived.
All victims were from Honduras, according to police.
Oropesa would have been drunk at the time.
Reports indicate that the alleged gunman has been deported from the US four times in the past 14 years.