Second man pleads guilty in murder of Border Patrol agent
Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo received 50 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
Video: https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texa...3e8cb8ad31
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A second man has been sentenced in the 2014 murder of an off-duty Border Patrol agent.
Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo plead guilty this week and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The other defendant, Gustavo Tijerina Sandoval, was found guilty of capital murder and attempted capital murder last year. He was sentenced to death.
The verdict is the culmination of years of investigative work and preparation that started the evening of August 3, 2014, when Javier Vega Jr., an off-duty Border Patrol agent, was fishing off a canal with his family in rural Santa Monica, Texas.
Tijerina Sandoval and Hernandez Vallejo drove up to the family to rob them at gunpoint. The situation escalated into gunfire that left Vega Jr. dead and his father injured.
The suspects fled the scene but were arrested a short time later. They were charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, and other crimes. Both men were in the United States illegally and had been previously deported numerous times.
In his plea deal, Hernandez-Vallejo agreed to testify against previously sentenced Tijerina-Sandoval in any future proceedings or re-trials. He also agreed to waive all appeals and listen to victims’ impact statements.
Both of Vega Jr.’s parents testified during trial for Tijerina-Sandoval.
https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texa...3e8cb8ad31
Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo received 50 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
Video: https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texa...3e8cb8ad31
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A second man has been sentenced in the 2014 murder of an off-duty Border Patrol agent.
Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo plead guilty this week and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The other defendant, Gustavo Tijerina Sandoval, was found guilty of capital murder and attempted capital murder last year. He was sentenced to death.
The verdict is the culmination of years of investigative work and preparation that started the evening of August 3, 2014, when Javier Vega Jr., an off-duty Border Patrol agent, was fishing off a canal with his family in rural Santa Monica, Texas.
Tijerina Sandoval and Hernandez Vallejo drove up to the family to rob them at gunpoint. The situation escalated into gunfire that left Vega Jr. dead and his father injured.
The suspects fled the scene but were arrested a short time later. They were charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, and other crimes. Both men were in the United States illegally and had been previously deported numerous times.
In his plea deal, Hernandez-Vallejo agreed to testify against previously sentenced Tijerina-Sandoval in any future proceedings or re-trials. He also agreed to waive all appeals and listen to victims’ impact statements.
Both of Vega Jr.’s parents testified during trial for Tijerina-Sandoval.
https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texa...3e8cb8ad31
