Murder case dismissed against man charged in deadly McAllen shooting

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The murder case against a man charged in a deadly McAllen shooting has been dismissed.

Luis Mondragon was facing a charge of murder in connection to a fatal December 2023 shooting. On Tuesday, a McAllen judge signed a judgment of dismissal, which cited insufficient evidence against Mondragon.

A previous ValleyCentral report stated that on Dec. 19, 2023, officers with the McAllen Police Department responded to the 200 block of N. 28th Street where they found Raymundo Martinez Gutierrez with multiple gunshot wounds. He later died from his injuries.

Police identified two suspects, Eliezer Morales and Jose Geovani Ipina-Rolaes, who they say chased Martinez in a Ford Expedition. A probable cause affidavit stated the men cut off Martinez's vehicle, and shot him from the front passenger side.

_{Eliezer Morales/Courtesy McAllen PD}

_{Jose Govany Ipina-Rosales/Courtesy McAllen PD}

Mondragon was identified by witnesses as entering the vehicle into the rear passenger seat prior to the shooting, according to the affidavit.

Mondragon's attorney, Samuel Reyes, said his client was a distant relative of one of the suspects. He added that Mondragon got into the vehicle to go to the store, and was threatened after the shooting.

"He got caught up in this and was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Reyes said.