Trial scheduled for suspect in deadly shooting outside of Freemason lodge

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The trial for the suspect in a deadly shooting outside of a McAllen Freemason lodge has been scheduled.

Julio Diaz is facing charges of murder and arson, according to Hidalgo County Jail records. An indictment states that Diaz fatally shot Robert Wise on July 10, 2023.

_{JulioDiaz/Hidalgo County Jail records}

A pre-trial hearing was held Monday, where Diaz's jury trial was tentatively scheduled for Aug. 19.

This comes two weeks after Diaz was ruled competent to stand trial.

In January, ValleyCentral spoke with Diaz's defense attorney, Lennard K. Whittaker, who said that medical professionals in Mexico found a cyst in Diaz's brain in 2019 after he complained of dizziness and tinnitus.

Whittaker says the defense is still in the process of trying to get the neurologist, and that the competency ruling does not affect this process.

"A competency evaluation is about whether the defendant's ability to self control is sufficient to be able to make it through the court process," Whittaker said. "The secondary purpose is whether he can be helpful to counsel and to the process itself. It is not an evaluation of whether he is sane or insane."

Background

On July 10, 2023, McAllen police received a report of a man who was shot in the face. When officers responded, they located the victim, identified as Wise, next to his pickup truck with multiple gunshot wounds.

A probable cause affidavit stated that surveillance footage showed Diaz arrive in a black Chevrolet and fire multiple shots at Wise. The video allegedly showed Diaz holding a gun in one hand, and an electronic device in the other.

“Mr. Diaz then posted a video on his social media (Instagram) account of the murder,” the affidavit states. “In the video on social media, Mr. Wise can be seen getting shot by Mr. Diaz.”

Diaz was taken into custody and booked into the Hidalgo County Jail two days later, where his bond was set at $1,000,000.

On Nov. 27, 2023, the family of Wise filed a lawsuit against the McAllen Freemason Lodge and its leaders, claiming negligence led to his death. The family is seeking more than $1 million in monetary relief.