Man sentenced to 60 years for McAllen machete murder

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The man charged with the death of a man from El Salvador in McAllen with a machete was found guilty of murder, according to records.

On July 14, court records showed Hector Neptaly Reyes Mendoza was found guilty by a jury in the death of 47-year-old Jose Edgardo Sorto.

He was sentenced to serve 60 years in prison with a credit of 353 days of time served.

Case background

After not being seen for two days, police responded to a residence on June 5, 2024 for a wellness check on Sorto. They found nothing.

However, the next day, they returned to the residence located at the 2000 block of Houston Avenue in McAllen. When they arrived they smelled an odor of a decomposing body.

Detectives entered a room at the home and found Sorto dead on the bed, covered in blankets and clothing, with several deep lacerations to his head.

An autopsy listed Sorto’s cause of death as “multiple chop wounds to head and upper extremities,” an affidavit stated.

Detectives interviewed one of the residents, Mario Nelson Amaya, who said that Reyes Mendoza and Sorto had an argument regarding Reyes Mendoza taking Sorto’s machete. At first, Amaya said he knew how the victim had been killed.

He was interviewed a second time, where he said he never made the initial statement. The affidavit claims that Amaya knew that Sorto was killed with a machete, but denied knowing it with intent to deceive the detective.

After some investigating, it was learned that the last time Sorto was seen alive was June 3, 2024.

Authorities said Reyes Mendoza was seen “sweaty,” claiming he locked himself out of his room after the murder. He was asking for money and left the home after the incident. He had not returned.

As previously reported by ValleyCentral, Amaya told police that he had not spoken with the suspect since June 4, but a search of his phone showed that he had called him on June 5. Detectives searched Amaya’s vehicle, which showed evidence in the backseat that may have been tied to the investigation.

Amaya was arrested and arraigned on June 8 on charges of false report to a police officer, as authorities continued to search for Reyes Mendoza. In March, Amaya's case was called for trial. However, he failed to appear in court.