San Juan police made a third arrest in a deadly shooting case. The case first sent police cars to a McAllen hospital. That police presence worried shoppers and neighbors two weeks ago. Now police say it ties back to a drug deal. That deal turned deadly at an H-E-B store.
The case goes back to Thursday, July 16. A man died after he got shot in the H-E-B Plus parking lot in San Juan. Two young men already face murder charges. Police just added a third suspect. The new arrest shows the case is still growing.
This story hits close to home for a lot of Valley families. H-E-B lots stay full of shoppers, kids, and carts most hours of the day. A deadly drug deal in a spot like that scares people across Hidalgo County.
Police say the shooting happened around 11 a.m. on July 16. The man who died was Hervey Marin De Leon, 40. He got shot several times. He later died from his wounds. No ambulance took him to the hospital. A private car took him instead, police said.
The victim's brother was in the car. He told police what he saw. He said a man got into the back seat. Then that man shot Marin De Leon. Police later found the gun at a home in Pharr.
San Juan police arrested Michael Anthony Lopez, 18. He faces a murder charge. Lopez also faces charges in a separate case. Those charges are aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Both are serious felonies. They can mean 5 to 99 years, or even life, in prison. Police also arrested Juan Samuel Olguin, 19. He faces a murder charge too. Police say Olguin drove the black Dodge Charger used to leave the scene. Police say Olguin told them he wanted 10,000 dollars for his part in the deal.
San Juan Police Chief Leandro Sifuentes spoke soon after the shooting. "An injured occupant of the vehicle was transported to the hospital in a privately owned vehicle," Sifuentes said. "This is an isolated incident, and there is no public threat." That quote explains why police from more than one department showed up at the McAllen hospital. They were not there for a new threat. They were there to work this same case.
Now police have made a third arrest. Officers arrested Ivory Ruiz on July 23. Ruiz faces three charges. One is hindering apprehension. That means helping a suspect dodge arrest. The others are assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest. A judge set bond at 70,000 dollars. Police have not said how Ruiz fits into the case.
Lopez and Olguin went to court the Friday after the shooting. A judge set bond at 1 million dollars for each man. That bond is high for this area. Both men likely must pay the full amount. Or a bond company must cover it. Only then can they leave jail before trial.
San Juan police are leading the case. McAllen police are helping too. Investigators say more arrests could still come. The case is not closed.
Drug deals that turn violent are not new in the Rio Grande Valley. Small deals can blow up fast. Guns show up where kids and families walk. That is what makes this case hard for a lot of parents to read. A trip to buy groceries turned into a crime scene.
The San Juan Police Department has not said if Ruiz knew Lopez or Olguin before the shooting. Police also have not said if Ruiz was near the H-E-B when it happened. It is not clear if the assault charges came later, during the arrest itself. Those are open questions right now.
For now, three people sit in jail tied to one shooting outside a busy grocery store. Court dates for all three still lie ahead. El Tejano will keep following this case as it moves through the courts.
