Alton man sentenced to 15 years for fatal shooting of 6-year-old girl

Juan Roman Garcia Olaguez

A third man involved in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old Mission girl has been sentenced to 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal, according to a press release from the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office.

Juan Ramon Garcia Olaguez, 47, was sentenced to 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the death of Yvonne Adele Medeles who was shot and killed on Feb. 23, 2021.

Olaguez pleaded guilty on Dec. 2 as part of a plea deal where in exchange for his testimony against William Garcia, 33, his sentence would range between five years and 30 years.

A jury found Garcia guilty of capital murder and murder on Dec. 11. A guilty verdict for capital murder is automatically a life sentence without parole. Garcia was then sentenced to 50 years for murder on Tuesday.

William Garcia sits in the 370th state District Court during his murder trial at the Hidalgo County Courthouse on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

During the trial, the court learned through evidence and testimony that Marco Antonio Reyes Chairez was the one who orchestrated the shooting after he felt disrespected by Medeles’ uncle, Oziel Balderas, who was only 14 years old at the time.

Chairez drove up to the home with Garcia as his passenger in a Ford Echo, Olaguez followed in his Chevrolet Cruze while a fourth man, Daniel Guzman Flores, tailed behind in his GMC Sierra.

Video evidence showed men exiting the Echo and firing guns at the Balderas’ home, while the Cruze is seen reversing, almost crashing into the Sierra and leaving the scene. The Sierra also followed suit.

During his testimony, Olaguez said Garcia and Chairez started shooting as soon as they got to the residence. He added that he had no weapons on him.

On the first day of his trial, April 4, 2023, Chairez pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison the same day.

“Although the jury’s verdict does not bring back the loss of innocent life, it does bring justice to the suffering family and our community,” Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios said in the press release.

The fourth and final suspect, Flores, is scheduled to go on trial on Feb. 10. He remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention center on $575,000 in bonds and has pleaded not guilty.

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