Weslaco man, 29, charged with murder for 78-year-old man’s beating death

Cristian Puentes

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office plans to upgrade charges against a 29-year-old Weslaco man for the fatal beating of a 78-year-old man during a “landlord-tenant dispute.”

In a news release, the sheriff’s office said Vidal Cruz died Friday following injuries he sustained on March 18 at the hands of Cristian Puentes.

The move comes following an autopsy, which found Cruz’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and his manner of death as homicide, according to a news release.

The alleged beating happened at 12:42 p.m. that day in the 2900 block of Hermosillo Street in Weslaco.

When deputies arrived, Cruz told them he had been assaulted by Puentes over the dispute, according to the release.

“Deputies observed visible facial injuries on Mr. Cruz from the alleged assault,” the release stated. “He expressed feelings of faintness and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.”

Witnesses told investigators they saw a man in a yellow shirt kicking Cruz in the head and surveillance confirmed Puentes wore a yellow shirt on the day of the assault, according to the release.

Deputies arrested Puentes on March 19 on unrelated warrants.

He remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a $500,000 bond on a charge of injury to an elderly person. On Tuesday afternoon, he is scheduled for a bond hearing when the charge is upgraded to murder.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with additional information to contact it at (956) 383-8113. Anonymous tipsters can contact Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at (956) 668-8477.

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