Posted on 10/16/2007 11:06:32 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
PHARR — Authorities fear the weekend murder of a suspected gang member could lead to reprisal attacks from one of the Rio Grande Valley’s most violent criminal organizations.
However, area residents have no immediate reason to be concerned that they will get caught in the crossfire, police said on Monday.
Gerardo “Boxer” Gutierrez, a 42-year-old high-ranking member of the Pharr-based Tri-City Bombers, was stabbed to death during a fight early Sunday morning outside an east-side home.
Officers arrested Benjamin Bravo, 25, a member of TCB rival group the Latin Kings, at the scene and charged him with Gutierrez’s murder.
Pharr police remained tight-lipped about the case Monday, only releasing a bare outline of the facts. But, sources close to the investigation said both were known gang members and that some sort of retribution is likely.
Officers found Gutierrez and another man lying in the roadway and suffering from multiple stab wounds while responding to the 800 block of East Chapa Street just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Both men were taken to McAllen Medical Center, where Gutierrez later died. The other victim, an 18-year-old man who police have yet to identify, remains in critical but stable condition.
Investigators do not believe the slaying was a planned hit or even necessarily gang-related, but said on Monday that the opposing affiliations of the accused and his victim may be too much for either group to ignore.
“Generally speaking, when you have one gang member attacking a member of another group there will be some sort of retribution,” said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, whose gang unit is assisting local police with the murder investigation.
But despite past incidences of violence, people targeted in such attacks are almost always involved in illegal activity themselves, he said.
Community activists in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo area remain concerned over what they see as increased activity from gangs such as the TCB, which formed more than 15 years ago in the Lopezville colonia north of San Juan and had seemed to simmer down in its activity for some time.
Since then, officers have linked the group to dozens of murders across the Valley, including the January 2003 killings of six members of the Texas Chicano Brotherhood, in what has since become known as the “Edinburg Massacre.”
The arrest of Humberto “Gallo” Garza, the gang’s captain, in connection with those slayings led to a temporary promotion within the group for Gutierrez, local gang experts said. However, it remains unclear whether he still held that position at the time of his death.
For now, Bravo remains in the Hidalgo County jail on a $1.24 million bond in connection with the gang leader’s death. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines.
Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas said officers will tighten patrols in light of Sunday’s murder but explained that such actions are normal after incidents of violent crime.
“We’re keeping up closer patrols of the city,” he said. “We’re following out normal operations.” ____ Jeremy Roebuck covers courts, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
We should arrange a meet-up for them
Let the “We don’t want border walls” mayors deal with it. When the gangs knocking on the City Hall, then they may start to change their minds.
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