Man found guilty of manslaughter in deadly Brownsville stabbing

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man was found guilty of manslaughter Thursday in connection to a deadly Brownsville stabbing.

Ernesto De Los Reyes Jr. was facing a charge of murder in the fatal stabbing of 20-year-old Rolando Reyna Jr. in September 2023. After deliberating for more than an hour, the jury found him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter.

The jury deliberated for approximately another hour and a half for the punishment phase, where he was sentenced to 15 years.

Ernesto De Los Reyes (Brownsville PD)

At 5:24 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2023, Brownsville police responded to the Bella Terra Apartments at the 3200 block of Galeno Crossing for a stabbing. There, they found a man, identified as Reyna, outside the apartment complex. Reyna had been stabbed in the chest.

Witnesses at the time told police that the two men had been confrontational throughout the night, and things escalated in the parking lot.

During the trial, a responding officer testified, where he said he could tell that Reyna was dead by the time he arrived.

Ernesto De Los Reyes shown through body cam footage in court on day 1 of the trial

The State also played a 911 call, where the caller was heard telling dispatch "this guy's crazy, he has a shank." The caller said that De Los Reyes was hiding inside the apartment.

The jury was also shown body cam footage of De Los Reyes talking to an officer from the back of a police unit. In the video, he tells them he warned the victim before the attack and stated he was protecting his girlfriend.

As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.