Detectives Look for Clues to Pre-Christmas Homicide

It was just two weeks before Christmas when a young father opened his door in 700 block of E. Ave. D to be met with gunfire that would claim his life.

The 29-year-old victim, Juan Florentino Ibarra, Jr., didn’t have any known enemies. His death is believed to be the result of violence at the hands of someone he knew and trusted, someone who parked their car in an alley next to his house and rang his doorbell just before 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2008.

Recalling the facts of the case, San Angelo Police Cold Case Detective Jim Coleman hopes that someone will come forward to help solve the ghastly crime that left a mother, sisters, cousins and two young girls without their loved one six years ago.

Beginning with a series of 911 calls for shots fired, the police and fire departments arrived on scene around the same time to find a number of people, visibly upset, milling around the small white house.

“They get into the house and they see him laying in the floor right inside the house, right in front of the front door,” Coleman explained. “The house was occupied. There was a witness inside. They reported that a vehicle had arrived and Ibarra had come up to the door. When he answered it, he was shot immediately, right in the doorway.”

As detectives and officers descended upon the crime scene, evidence was gathered and statements were collected. Many in the immediate neighborhood had heard the gunfire, and the witness in the house told of a red or maroon car that had been parked in the alleyway. The car resurfaced in witness accounts, some stating they had seen it driving in the alley just before law enforcement arrived on scene.   

Police went through all of Ibarra’s contacts and associates looking for someone who owned or had access to a car matching the description, but were unable to find solid evidence that linked an individual to the case.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the shooting, they believe their suspect must have known Ibarra, and suspect there may be more than one person involved in the homicide.

“He opened the door for him,” Coleman explained. “There was a vehicle that had been reported at the time—a maroon or red vehicle—that had been parked in the alley…there’s an alley that runs right next to his house and cars would pull into this alley, park and they’d just go around to the door instead of parking in the street. One of the occupants of the house noticed that vehicle there, told him, he went to the door, opened the door, and that’s when he got shot.”

Several persons of interest developed in the case, and after a period of time that pool gradually narrowed down to a few, Coleman said.

“There were several—three or four—that we felt probably had some connection to it in one respect or another,” Coleman said. “[We] don’t know if they were somebody who organized it or drove to it or did the shooting or provided the weapon, but there’s definitely a small little group of people we think knew something else happened and they could help us if they wanted to.”

Ibarra’s murder was worked intensively for several months before it went cold, but detectives have kept the case active over the years as they develop more information on the night of the homicide.

Since taking over the cold case file, Jim Coleman has interviewed some 20-25 people, some of which were initially interviewed, others who were not. His investigation has narrowed to a group of suspects he believes were involved, and some of those were the same persons of interest from the initial investigation.

DNA evidence was also collected at the scene, and the victim was ruled out. Police are still waiting for a match on the evidence. A motive for the crime has never been determined.

Ibarra was well liked, Coleman said. “I haven’t really heard of anybody that said they had just a big problem with him. He had lots of friends. He left behind two daughters, a mother, a couple of sisters, cousins. I talked to all of them.”

“We don’t know why somebody wanted to do harm to him,” Lt. David Howard added. “We don’t know if they were trying to settle a grudge, we don’t know what the motivation was behind the killing.”

Due to the rather public nature of the homicide, Coleman hopes that some of those present in the neighborhood that night will recall more detail about what they saw and ultimately lead to a break in the case.

“A lot of times when people see violent things, their mind sees it and records it, but they just kind of block it out,” he said. “They don’t want to remember something like that. We’re hoping at some point somebody will say, ‘Yeah, I kind of remember…’ and it may take years and years for that stuff to just filter back in.”

If you or anyone you know has information pertaining to the murder of Juan Florentino Ibarra, Jr., contact Crime Stoppers at 325-658-HELP. Tips may also be submitted online at  sanangelocrimestoppers.com, or via the SAPD website under  cold case investigations. 

More cold case stories may be found below:

The Rape and Murder of 83-Year-Old Dovie Dykes

The Murder of Thomas Henry Marsden

The Murder of Chris Hayes

The Murder of Sandra Brewer

The Double-Homicide of Shane and Sally