Man charged in death of girlfriend's husband to be arraigned

MISSION, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man accused for his involvement in the death of his girlfriend's husband is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon.

Juan Miguel Ibarra Armenta is scheduled to appear in court at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and be formally charged with manslaughter, according to a news release from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

Background

At approximately 8:52 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21, deputies responded to an assault, later classified as manslaughter, on Minnesota Road, south of Mile 5 Road in Mission.

At the scene, the responding deputies found a man’s body, later identified as 31-year-old Christian Castillo from Mission, lying on the roadway.

Mugshot of Juan Miguel Ibarra Armenta Source: Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office

According to the release, witnesses reported to deputies that Castillo was being followed by a Chevrolet HHR, which police suspect was occupied by at least two men.

The suspects exited the vehicle, and one of them hit Castillo multiple times with a wooden board, causing him to fall to the ground, the release stated.

While Castillo was on the roadway, he was hit by a blue Chevrolet Silverado going southbound.

According to HCSO, Silverado was unrelated to the earlier assault and left the scene without stopping.

The Texas Department of Public Safety was called to the scene to help with the crash reconstruction aspect of the investigation. Hidalgo County investigators and crime scene specialists arrived at the location where they interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence that helped identify the suspects.

The investigation revealed that the suspect’s vehicle was registered to the victim’s wife, who had previously filed an assault report against Castillo that evening.

Deputies later found the suspect’s vehicle and a wooden board with apparent blood stains inside near the intersection of Minnesota Road and Mile 5 Road.

During the course of the investigation, deputies identified the driver of the HHR as Armenta, who is the boyfriend of the victim’s wife.

According to investigators, Armenta admitted to being present at the scene along with the second suspect, identified as 32-year-old Jose Maximiliano Flores, who hit Castillo with the board.

Armenta was arrested on charges of manslaughter. Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer told ValleyCentral that investigators have issued an arrest warrant against Flores.

HSCO investigators state they anticipate more arrests related to this case.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at (956) 383-8114 or the Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at (956) 668-TIPS (8477).