March Indictments: Shootings, More Child Sex Crimes, Suicide by Cop and Shankings

SAN ANGELO, TX – A grand jury met for one day this month, on March 8, and indicted 66 people on a variety of offenses including drugs, theft, aggravated assault with deadly weapons, forgery, arson, and crimes against children and first responders.

Of course, there are those crimes that stand out amongst the rest, so here are the ones LIVE! chose to revisit and highlight.

Abilene Gang Member Indicted for Shooting and Stealing San Angelo Man’s Vehicle

Some of our readers may remember the incident involving 33-year-old Pete Frank Estrada, who, on Nov. 30, 2016, shot a man at 25 W. Avenue O and stole his vehicle.

On that night, San Angelo Police dispatched to the residence for the report of a shooting. There they found the victim, Rudy Santellano. The victim told police that he recognized the man who struck him in the head with a gun and shot him on his upper left arm as “Oso.” He also told police that Estrada took his vehicle after shooting him.

When Detective Adrian Castro arrived on scene, he observed blood droplets in the driveway, two .40 caliber cartridge cases, and two bullets that had been fired. Detective Castro also observed the cut above the left victim’s eye and the gunshot wound.

Santellano told Detective Castro that he was pulling his truck into the driveway on West Avenue O when a dark colored Ford pickup pulled up behind him.

“The victim advised that the suspect approached the driver side of the vehicle that he, the victim, was still sitting in and was suddenly struck in the head by the suspect with a handgun,” said the complaint.

The victim then pulled Santellano out of the vehicle, and he fell to the ground. Estrada shot Santellano and fled the scene with the vehicle. Santellano told police an unknown subject drove away in the vehicle Estrada pulled up in.

Santellano repeated that he knew the suspect as “Oso,” and said the man was a West Texas gang member from Abilene.

On Dec. 1, 2016, Detective Castro established Estrada as a possible suspect to the crime, and Det. Hawthorne presented a photographic lineup of Estrada to Santellano, who positively identified him as the one who attacked him that night.

On Dec. 15, Abilene Police arrested Estrada in connection to the shooting, and he was extradited back to San Angelo. His bond was set at $150,000, and the charge he faces is a first degree felony enhanced. Estrada has been arrested nine times in Tom Green County.

For our initial stories on this crime, visit here, here, and here.

Man Indicted for Sexual Indecency with a 15-Year-Old Girl

A 20-year-old San Angelo man, Ruben Ibarra, was also indicted this month for Indecency w/Child Sexual Contact, a second degree felony.

According to court records, on or about Jan. 6, 2017, Ibarra engaged in sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl. On that day, San Angelo Police Officer Jason Renaud spoke with the victim and Ibarra at a local residence. The officer initially responded to a fight call.

When Officer Renaud arrived at the location, the victim made an outcry statement. She said she awoke without clothing and Ibarra next to her with “his finger inside her sexual organ.” She told the officer she initially fell asleep with clothes on, and awoke to another female yelling at Ibarra to be quiet.

“[The victim] sat up and found she was only wearing a panty,” read the complaint. “[The other female] told [the victim] to put her clothing on and [the victim] fell back asleep.”

When next the victim awoke, that’s when she found Ibarra by her, touching her, without her clothes on.

The other female told Officer Renaud at the scene that she found the victim without clothing when she entered to tell Ibarra to be quiet. She told the girl to put her clothes back on and left the room. She returned to the room, however, when she heard the victim stating, “No!” At that point, she pulled Ibarra to the side and told him to leave the girl alone because she was a minor.

Ibarra did admit to the other female that he had sexually touched the victim, and wondered if the victim would report him. When she did, Ibarra admitted to Officer Renaud that he wanted to “have sexual intercourse” with the victim or her friend, but they did not want to have sex with him. He also admitted to knowing the victim was 15 years old.

Ibarra has been arrested six times in Tom Green County. For our initial story on Ibarra’s arrest, click here.

Child Sex Offender Strikes Again

In another crime against a child, Richard Michael Valadez, 46, was indicted on two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of Child and one count of Indecency w/Child Sexual Contact. This is the second time Valadez has been indicted for sexually assaulting a child younger than 17.

In this case, according to the indictment, on or about Sept. 13, 2016, Valadez sexually assaulted a girl younger than 14. For the three second degree felony charges, his bonds totaled $140,000.

Valadez has been arrested nine times in Tom Green County, and back in Aug. of 2005, he sexually assaulted another girl younger than 17 years of age. In that case, he showed the girl porn, then proceeded to sexually assault her.

San Angelo Couple Blaze Things Up with Local Law Enforcement

Of course, many readers will remember Gary and Brenda Wright, the couple who had a standoff with police and burned down their home. They claimed afterwards that they were frustrated with San Angelo Police and life in general.

On or about Jan. 13, 2017, Gary Wright contacted David Wagner with local news station KLST and told him he was about to have a stand-off with police. To get first responders to his home, Mr. Wright poured gasoline into a hole in the floor of his house in the 1200 block of E. 21^st St., which leads down into the basement.

According to the complaint, Gary Wright told Fire Marshal Ross Coleman that he “intentionally set fire to [his residence] on Jan. 13, 2017 in an attempt to attract public safety officials and engage police in a ‘suicide by cop’ scenario.”

The fire destroyed the Wright’s home, and caused heat damage to a neighbor’s home.

During his interview on Jan. 25 at Shannon Medical Center, Mr. Wright told Fire Marshal Coleman that he and his wife were fed up with life, behind on their mortgage and had no more money. He also explained how he started the fire, and said he and his wife started planning the fire and engaging police around Thanksgiving.

In an interview on Jan. 17 at the Tom Green County Jail, Mrs. Wright told Coleman she and her husband felt like there “wasn’t a level playing field” in life. She also stated that “property is fair; they can have the property, but they’re not having our sweat, blood, and tears.”

The Wrights were indicted for Arson Intend Damage Habitat/place of Worship, a first degree felony. Both of their bonds were initially set at $30,000.

For more on our initial stories, click here, here, and here.

Inmate Caught with “Shanking” Weapon in Jail

In a final noteworthy case, 24-year-old Alex Raymond Garcia was indicted for a crime right out of a prison movie, and now faces another second degree felony charge for Deadly Weapon in a Penal Institution.

According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2017, Detention Officer Bobby Vasquez was conducting a routine cleaning of the lights in Garcia’s single cell in Cellblock J, which Garcia has been assigned to since Dec. 3, 2016.

When Detention Officer Vasquez moved Garcia’s mattress, a long thin piece of orange plastic with one end sharpened to a tip, and the other end wrapped with a white cloth fabric, fell to the floor.

“Detention Officer Vasquez recognized this homemade manufactured knife to be commonly known as a ‘shank,’” said the complaint.

This device is the type of homemade manufactured knife that’s capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury, the complaint also noted.

Garcia has been arrested 13 times in TGC, and he was initially in jail for arson and evading arrest. Now, he faces the deadly weapon charge.

To review the March indictment list, click here.