Arrest of Alton man detailed in trial over 6-year-old girl’s shooting death

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EDINBURG — Testimony in the trial of a Mission man on Thursday afternoon accused of participating in the fatal drive-by shooting that left a 6-year-old girl dead was brief.

The second day of trial for William Garcia, who is charged with capital murder of a person under 10 years old and murder, lasted for approximately two hours due to scheduling conflicts and featured testimony from investigators who responded to the crime scene while detailing the arrest of 46-year-old Alton resident Marco Antonio Reyes Chairez.

Garcia has been on trial since Tuesday for the Feb. 23, 2021 shooting that left Yvone Adele Medeles dead.

Prosecutors on Tuesday revealed during opening arguments that the shooting was preceded by an argument between Chairez and Oziel Balderas, who was 14 years old at the time of the shooting. He is Medeles’ uncle.

On Thursday, Rigoberto Cantu Jr., who was working as an investigator of major crimes with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at the time, said a SWAT team executed a warrant at 206 Leal Street where they found Chairez hiding in an attic.

He was arrested after either falling through the ceiling or being pulled out of the attic through the ceiling. Cantu said Chairez was considered armed and dangerous at the time.

Oscar Roy Gonzalez Jr., a crime scene specialist at the time of the shooting, also testified Thursday. He said authorities also searched a residence at 2170 Larkspur in Edinburg where they found a .45 caliber pistol hidden in an attic of an apartment there. They also found Chairez’s wallet with his identification and the key to the Ford Echo Chairez drove on the day of the shooting.

Both investigators also detailed how they discovered surveillance video footage in the area showing Chairez’s vehicle in the area of the shooting in the 2400 block of Valencia Avenue before and after the shooting.

Testimony on Wednesday afternoon came from a retired forensic pathologist who said Medeles’ cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

She had been watching television at the time of the shooting and died instantly. Investigators found bullet holes in the headboard of the bed she was on and in the television she was watching, Cantu said Thursday.

Defense attorneys on Wednesday afternoon also finished cross examining Balderas, Medeles’ uncle.

Balderas had given Chairez the middle finger after the two got into an argument prior to the shooting. Defense attorneys, however, insinuated the shooting wasn’t about the argument. Instead, they said it was because Balderas was on probation at the time because he had shot someone who had tried to get on his property, including one who was associated with Chairez.

Balderas, however, said he didn’t expect grown men to react the way they did because he gave them the middle finger.

“It’s traumatizing,” he said Wednesday. “People are expecting me to remember everything that day when all I’m trying to do is forget.”

Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has remained free on a total of $125,000 in bonds. Chairez, meanwhile, is serving 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in April 2023.

Juan Roman Garcia Olaguez, a 47-year-old Alton resident, has also pleaded guilty to murder. He entered his plea on Monday and is facing five to 30 years in prison in exchange for truthful testimony against Garcia.

The final suspect, 47-year-old Edinburg resident Daniel Guzman Flores, has pleaded not guilty to capital murder of a person under 10 years old and murder.

Guzman remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $575,000 in bonds.

The trial continues Friday morning.

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