Bailey Street Murder: Ortiz Indicted on Murder and Retaliation

SAN ANGELO, TX -- On May 2 Gabriel Ortiz was indicted on one charge of murder and one charge of retaliation. 

On March 19 at around 4:30 p.m. SAPD were dispatched to 2013 Bailey St. for multiple shots fired. When they arrived they found that Ernesto Hernandez was dead in the backyard from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and the head. 

When police arrived Gabriel Ortiz, 43, was waiting on them in the front yard and told them that he had a gun in his pocket. A witness on scene say they heard one shot then someone shout "don't do it" followed by two shots. The witness says that Ortiz placed the gun at a "Downward angle and shot Hernandez." 

Ortiz was charged with murder that night and was placed on a $250,000 bond. Two days later Ortiz was bailed out of the Tom Green County Jail but while he was in there he hinted towards more of what he was accused of doing. 

While in the jail, Ortiz spoke with another inmate who was cutting his hair about what was going on in the news. He watched a local station and saw his wife on the screen crying. "You wasn't crying when you were sleeping with him," said Ortiz to the barber. "That's my wife and she's next." 

He finished off by telling the inmate "She f****** with the right one," said Ortiz. "I told her from the beginning, she's f***** with the right one."  After hearing this and realizing that Ortiz had been bailed out the inmate told police what he had heard. According to the affidavit, police fully believe that if left unchecked there is a real and viable threat of unlawful action including violence to Ortiz's former wife. 

Once out of jail Ortiz fled to his home town of Winters. Tom Green County Sheriff's Arrested him on March 23 and charged him with retaliation or obstruction. 

His initial pre-trail hearing will begin August 6 at 2 p.m. He is currently in the Tom Green County Jail without bond.