Slain girl’s former stepdad testifies in Mission drive-by death

EDINBURG — “I treated them like mine,” Esteban Lopez, the former stepfather of the 6-year-old Mission girl who was shot and killed at her home in 2021, said through tears Monday.

On the fourth day of trial against William Garcia, one of the men accused in the shooting that killed Yvonne Adele Medeles on Feb. 23, 2021, the court heard from Yvonne’s former step-father, who said he’s homeless and has been struggling due to her death.

Garcia’s co-defendant, Marco Antonio Reyes Chairez, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for capital murder in 2023. Another co-defendant, Juan Roman Garcia Olaguez, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of murder as part of a plea deal where he agreed to testify against Garcia.

The fourth man involved, Daniel Guzman Flores, has a sentencing hearing scheduled for next year.

“I’ve been struggling for the past two months,” Lopez told the court.

Initially, he was unable to be found for testimony, but he explained that he had a falling out with his latest partner and had no clue that the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office was looking for him as he has no phone or physical address.

Lopez described the events that unfolded that tragic day which led to Yvonne’s death, stating that following Oziel Balderas’ interaction with Chairez earlier that day left him with a bad feeling.

Oziel Balderas, 18, is Yvonne’s uncle. He was 14 the night his niece was killed.

Lopez testified that before their interaction, he and Oziel Balderas were at the gym when he received a message from Yvonne’s mother, Juliana Balderas, stating that their neighbor across the street, a man named Juan Areas, threatened to kill them.

She stated during her testimony that Areas was threatening to call people to come kill them, adding that they’ve had issues with him before and how he would sometimes come onto the property.

The police were called but that wouldn’t stop what happened later from happening.

When Lopez later dropped Juliana Balderas off at Stripes for her 3 p.m. shift, she reminded him of her handgun inside their safe and told him to protect her kids.

Juliana Balderas testified earlier that she owned several guns for protection, stating that her home had been shot at before by Areas and his cousin Luis Rodriguez, of which they were charged with.

Lopez stated that he and Oziel Balderas were outside working out and smoking marijuana when Oziel left to go use the restroom, but Lopez then heard him arguing with someone. He stood by the side of the home and saw that Oziel Balderas was arguing with Chairez who was in a Ford Echo on the road yelling at the then 14-year-old.

“He was talking s—-,” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, Chairez was claiming that this was his neighborhood and making threats. Chairez then drove away slowly while he was on his phone.

Lopez added that about 10-15 minutes later, Flores drove by in a goldish GMC Sierra very slowly a couple of times.

“That’s when I knew something was wrong,” Lopez said.

Witness Oziel Balderas testifies in the murder trial of William Garcia in the 370th state District Court at the Hidalgo County Courthouse on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

He stated that he got after Oziel Balderas for arguing with Chairez and went inside to check on the kids. It was then that he pulled a handgun out of the safe and placed it on top of the refrigerator which was next to the front door.

As he was coming back outside, Chairez was already parking outside the Balderas’ gate along with two or three more vehicles.

Lopez saw this, grabbed the gun and placed it in his waistband behind his back.

When he went outside, he stood next to Oziel Balderas who was exchanging heated words with Chairez.

Lopez said that Chairez had a passenger that also stepped out of the vehicle who he described as a young, tall man in a tracksuit with a handgun.

Chairez then dropped his own handgun inside his Echo and pulled out an AK-47, according to Lopez.

As soon as he did, Chairez began to fire.

“He looked like a psychopath,” Lopez said.

As the bullets flew past his head, Lopez pulled the gun from his waist and began to fire back, hiding behind his Chrysler 300.

Lopez claims that he fired about 20 to 24 rounds, going through two magazines he had, adding that Chairez continued to fire as the other vehicles escaped.

Lopez wasn’t sure if he hit anybody, but Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Specialist Joel Castro, who also testified Monday, documented photos of a gold GMC Sierra found at another Mission address with a broken passenger side window.

Juliana Balderas, the mother of a 6-year-old killed in a drive-by shooting, clutches a photo of her daughter, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, during a hearing at the Hidalgo County Courthouse in Edinburg. (Xavier Alvarez | xalvarez@themonitor.com)

Juliana Balderas said that she received a message from her neighbor regarding the shooting while she was at work so she reached out to her family, but was about to connect with them. She then contacted her sister so she could check on the kids.

Lopez was then able to contact her and told her Yvonne had been shot, so Juliana Balderas had her manager drive her to her home where she arrived to police and several people.

She was stopped by police from going inside the home, but was later told that her daughter was dead.

“She was an active little girl,” Juliana Balderas described her daughter. “She loved helping a lot of people.”

Juliana Balderas and Lopez soon separated following the death of Yvonne.

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