Argument with teen sparked fatal drive-by shooting in Mission that killed child

William Garcia

EDINBURG — Prosecutors on Wednesday told jurors during opening arguments that a quarrel between a 46-year-old Alton man and a 14-year-old boy prompted the deadly drive-by shooting in Mission that left a 6-year-old girl dead.

The statement from Prosecutor Laura Rodriguez provides the first glimpse of the motive behind the senseless Feb. 23, 2021 shooting that left Yvone Adele Mireles dead.

The jury was selected Tuesday afternoon in the trial of William Garcia, who is charged with capital murder of a child and murder.

Garcia has pleaded not guilty.

During openings, Rodriguez said that on the day of the shooting Juliana Balderas’ younger brother Oziel Balderas was working out outside her residence in the 2400 block of Valencia Avenue when Marco Antonio Reyes Chairez, 46, pulled up in his Ford Echo and began insulting the teen.

Juliana is Mireles’ mother.

According to Rodriguez, Oziel asked Chairez if there’s a problem and Chairez gave him a mean look so the teen gave him the middle finger, which is when Chairez began berating him and telling him he needs to be more respectful.

Chairez then threatened Oziel and said he’s going to make some calls to some people, Rodriguez said.

Oziel took the stand on Tuesday and recalled the events leading up to the shooting. He said that 30 or 40 minutes after the altercation with Chairez, Daniel Guzman Flores, a 47-year-old Edinburg resident, was driving around the area in his truck.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to the same charges levied against Garcia.

Around 20 to 30 minutes later, Oziel said three cars pulled up to the property and the occupants of the vehicles stepped out and began shooting. But before that, Oziel said Chairez yelled out in Spanish “Now we’ll see who is big sh-t.”

“They shot a lot of rounds,” Oziel said.

He recounted how he dropped to the floor and crawled toward a room where his niece — Mireles — and his nephew were because he was concerned. He said he found Mireles who was bleeding profusely and his immediate thought was that she was dead.

At a press conference following the shooting, Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said the child died instantly.

Chairez pleaded guilty to murder on April 4, 2023 and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He won’t be eligible for parole until 2046 and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice lists his projected release date in 2071.

Juan Roman Garcia Olaguez, a 47-year-old Alton man, pleaded guilty on Monday to murder and is facing between five to 30 years in prison in exchange for truthful testimony against Garcia.

Guzman remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on $575,000 in bonds while Garcia bailed out on Aug. 31, 2021 on $125,000 in bonds.

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