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Thread: Murder Trial Set for Guadalupe Garcia Vela in 2015 TX Murders

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    Murder Trial Set for Guadalupe Garcia Vela in 2015 TX Murders




    State Seeking Death Penalty for 2015 Murder


    EDINBURG - Jury selection begins for the man accused of fatally shooting two women over an alleged drug dispute back in 2015.

    25-year-old Guadalupe Vela faces two counts of Capital Murder. The state continues seeking the death penalty, while Vela's attorney seeks a deal with the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office.

    Vela is accused in the murder of 20-year-old Yvette Garza and Natalie Hernandez, also 20. The deaths occurred in December 2015 in Palmview. When authorities located the bodies, they both had gunshot wounds to the head. According to authorities, one of them had packages of cocaine strapped to her body leading investigators to believe their deaths were over a drug dispute.

    This morning Vela faced Judge Marla Cuellar in the 275th District Court.

    Guadalupe Vela's mother, sister, and girlfriend were all charged with filing a false report and hindering the apprehension of a felon. All three waited outside the courtroom and were emotional while speaking to his attorney. The trial is expected to begin on April 29.

    https://www.kveo.com/news/local-news...der/1799651237
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    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Double homicide trial postponed for more tests

    A 25-year-old Mission man’s jury trial on accusations he shot two women to death during a drug deal gone wrong days before Christmas in 2015 is on hold after a judge learned an officer involved in the double homicide investigation may have had a relationship with one of the victims.

    Guadalupe Garcia Vela appeared in court Thursday afternoon with defense attorneys Nereyda Morales-Martinez and Regina “Regi” Richardson who requested that the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office explore whether the Palmview Police Department has a policy that would allow prosecutors to conduct ballistic testing on the officer’s service weapon.

    Authorities never found the weapon police say Vela used to gun down Yvette Garza and Natalie Hernandez on Dec. 20, 2015, the Thursday hearing revealed. He has been in jail since his arrest in January 2016, and has pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges.

    Investigators have said one of the victims had packages of cocaine strapped to her body.

    The defense attorneys said in a motion filed in early August that on June 14, the state informed them of the possible relationship between an officer and a victim.

    “On June 14, 2019, notice was given to the defense by the State there were rumors that one of the officers involved in the investigation of the case may have been having a relationship with one of the victims,” the motion states. “Of course, this officer has access to firearms in order to carry out his duties as a police officer.”

    On Aug. 1, the state told the defense attorneys that two witnesses who were at the crime scene owned a shotgun and one 9mm handgun, according to the motion.

    Authorities recovered 9mm casings at the crime scene, the hearing revealed.

    “In any case, the defense respectfully requests that any and all weapons owned, possessed, and or in the care, custody or control of the officer thought to have been in a relationship with one of the victims (Officer Martinez; first name unknown at this time) and the shotgun and 9mm handgun in possession of the two witnesses at location of the crime be secured and or picked up as evidence in this case and that they be tested for the possibility of any said weapons being the weapon(s) used in the commission of the crime,” the motion states.

    On Thursday, state District Judge Marla Cuellar partially denied the request in regards to weapons privately owned by the officer and the witnesses because the state had no authority to seize the weapons without a search warrant.

    The Palmview Police Department never collected or tested those weapons, the hearing revealed.

    “Can’t you use that as your defense,” Cuellar asked, suggesting that the defense could argue that police conducted an incomplete investigation during a trial setting.

    Another reason the jury trial, which was scheduled for late September, was canceled is because the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Weslaco crime lab began testing canisters found at the crime scene for DNA at the beginning of August.

    The state was unable to provide the judge an update on the status of that testing during the hearing.

    Vela is charged with capital murder of multiple persons. The Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office is not pursuing the death penalty.

    If convicted, Vela faces life without parole.

    https://www.themonitor.com/2019/09/0...stponed-tests/
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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Mission man accused of 2015 murder seeking bond reduction ahead of May trial

    By Nathaniel Puente
    Valley Central

    HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man facing charges for murdering two women in 2015 is looking to lower his bond total ahead of the trial.

    Guadalupe Garcia Vela, 27, is looking to reduce the $750 thousand bond total he faces for a capital murder charge he faces from a 2015 incident. His attorney is looking to lower the bond for $100 thousand.

    Garcia Vela is accused of killing Yvette Garza, 20, and Natalie Hernandez, 20, on Dec. 20, 2015 in Palmview. Police say Garza and Hernandez were found dead with gunshot wounds.

    The murder is believed to be drug-related as one of the women was found with cocaine packages strapped to their legs.

    Garcia Vela was arrested near Beaumont in January 2016. He was indicted for the charge in April 2016.

    He originally faced a $1 million bond total for the charge but a bond reduction motion lowered the total to $750 thousand in August 2016.

    Garcia Vela was scheduled for trial in April 2019 but delays have pushed the trial to May 2022.

    He has remained in jail since his arrest in January 2016.

    Garcia Vela’s mother, Antonia Garcia Vela, and sister, Karla Gaona were charged with giving false police reports pertaining to the case. Each pleaded guilty and received probation sentences.

    https://www.valleycentral.com/news/l...-of-may-trial/
    https://archive.is/y2R3g
    Last edited by Helen; 02-11-2022 at 05:00 PM. Reason: moved photo to top, deleted date

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Man pleads not guilty in 2015 Palmview capital murder trial

    By KRGV.com News

    A man accused in the shooting deaths of two women in 2015 in Palmview pleaded not guilty to capital murder of multiple persons on Tuesday.

    The jury trial for Guadalupe Garcia Vela began nearly seven years after he was accused of shooting and killing Yvette Garza and Nathalie Hernandez during a criminal transaction, according to the indictment against him.

    Four witnesses were called to the stand by the prosecution.

    Each one recalled their memory of Dec. 20, 2015, when Garza and Hernandez were found dead.

    The first two witnesses testified they called the police after hearing the sound of glass breaking and three gunshots.

    Palmview police investigator David Salinas told jurors what he saw when he arrived at the scene.

    “I respond to the scene, I observed two victims lying down on the ground in a cross-like shape," Salinas said.

    Salinas testified he reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby residence, but that footage was not played in court after the defense said the video was not shared with their team.

    A box full of evidence was also brought into the courtroom. Items inside were not allowed to be seen by the jury.

    Jurors are hoping to review the evidence thoroughly Wednesday afternoon when the trial resumes.

    https://www.krgv.com/videos/man-plea...-murder-trial/
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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Day 2: Crime scene investigator testifies in Palmview double murder trial

    By KRGV News

    A crime scene investigator testified Wednesday on the second day of a double murder trial in Hidalgo County.


    Guadalupe Garcia Vela is accused in the shooting deaths of two women in 2015 in Palmview. He pleaded not guilty to capital murder of multiple persons on Tuesday.

    The crime scene investigator who processed the scene in 2015 testified Wednesday.

    “My job is to try and see if we can get anything that has to do with the scene, as to what could have happened, if there's any fingerprints on there,” she said.

    Photos of the scene where Yvette Garza and Nathalie Hernandez were found were shown to the jury, along with a video taken by the CSI investigator.

    The jury also saw evidence, including CO-2 cartridges found at the scene of the crime, and pictures of bullet shell casings that match live rounds found at Vela's home.

    The trial resumes Thursday.

    https://www.krgv.com/news/day-2-crim...e-murder-trial
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    2016 Palmview double homicide case ends in mistrial

    By Mark Reagan - The Monitor

    The double homicide trial for a 28-year-old Mission man ended Friday in a mistrial.

    Guadalupe Garcia Vela has been on trial since June 27 on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons.

    Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez Jr. confirmed the mistrial Friday afternoon.

    Garcia is accused of fatally shooting Yvette Garza in the head and neck and Nathalie Ingridh Hernandez in the head on Dec. 20, 2015, according to a probable cause affidavit.

    He has been held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center since Jan. 11, 2016 on a total of $750,000 in bonds, jail records indicate.

    Palmview police responded to the area of Eastview Circle at around 12:31 a.m. on the day of the double killing in reference to someone shot.

    Once officers arrived on location, they found two women in the road on top of each other and gunshot wounds as well as several C02 canisters scattered on the ground near their bodies, according to the probable cause affidavit.

    Nearby residents reported to Palmview police that they heard gunshots and saw a white Camaro leave the area at a high rate of speed.

    Nearly a dozen hours later, at 12:03 p.m., a Palmview police officer responded to 5002 West Mile 4 Road in reference to a vehicle that was possibly involved in the murder, according to the affidavit, which said a woman reported finding her Camaro with blood inside of it.

    “Police report states the female was identified as Antonia Vela,” the affidavit stated. “Police report states the officer learned the mother lent the vehicle to her son, Guadalupe Vela the night before at approximately 8:00 pm.”

    She told authorities that her son was not home and that she had called her numerous times but his phone was off, according to the affidavit.

    Authorities executed a search warrant at the residence and reported in the affidavit finding two pieces of clothing on a bathroom floor “with the presence of explosive odor.”

    “Police report states that a pair of boots were located in the room of Guadalupe Vela and appeared to have drops of blood on them,” the affidavit stated.

    That document also has vague text stating “evidence was recovered.”

    One of the women who was killed also had several packages of a “white powdery substance wrapped around her stomach” and the other victim was missing a white pearl earring which investigators say was recovered in the Camaro, according to the affidavit.

    Court records do not indicate a new trial date.

    https://myrgv.com/local-news/2022/07...s-in-mistrial/
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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Vela's capital jury retrial is scheduled to begin on November 6th, 2023. The death penalty is NOT being sought.

    https://pa.co.hidalgo.tx.us/CaseDeta...CaseID=3327248

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