LUBBOCK, Texas — The two illegal aliens suspected of murdering an off duty border patrol agent in South Texas are expected to be formally charged Tuesday with capital murder and other offenses.
Breitbart Texas has learned that the two men who confessed to having shot U.S. Border Patrol agent, Javier Vega, in Willacy County are 40-year-old Ismael Hernandez and 30-year-old Gustavo Tijerina, both from Matamoros, Tamaulipas and living in the Rio Grande Valley illegally.
The two men are expected to go before a judge to face one count of capital murder, four counts of aggravated robbery, and other charges for their role in the murder. If convicted of the capital murder charge they could face the death penalty.
Based on the information that the two men have given to authorities, they may be behind a rash of similar robberies in nearby Cameron County, a border county, where they targeted fishermen, said Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence, whose agency is handling the murder case.
The way the men worked was that they would drive around secluded areas looking for victims and then drive back with one of them shooting various rounds into the air while the other would take their victims valuables and vehicles leaving them stranded, Spence said.
Vega had been enjoying time off with his family at a fishing spot on the eastern side of the county near the community of Santa Monica, just west of Lyford Texas.
In Vega’s case, the gunmen encountered a border patrol agent who along with his father fired back to defend their family.
“Sometime were not sure when he was shot in the chest and his father was shot in the hip,” Spence said.
After fighting off the gunmen, Vega’s mother rushed them to get medical attention but the gunshot wound proved fatal, the sheriff said.
The two men sped off but were forced to leave their vehicle behind because of the damage made by Vega’s bullets. The gunmen trekked for miles and hid in a shed in the nearby town of Sebastian where authorities caught them after a five hour manhunt when a homeowner alerted them to their location.
The National Border Patrol Council, a union that represents border patrol agents, issued a statement expressing their sadness at the loss of their fellow agent but praising him and his family on their resilience to fight back in the face of danger. The union also thanked the law enforcement community for their swift response in apprehending the suspects.
“Agent Vega’s actions were in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Border Patrol and his will be a place, deserved of honor and glory, when the final story of the United States Border Patrol is written,” the NBPC said in their prepared statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.”
Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter: @ildefonsoortiz
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