DPS: McAllen murder suspect arrested during human smuggling attempt
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A 30-year-old McAllen man wanted on a murder charge was among the three individuals arrested during a Tuesday traffic stop involving a human smuggling attempt, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Two teens were also arrested in connection with the traffic stop, DPS added in a news release.
Eliezer Morales, 30, was being smuggled back into the country during the arrest, DPS said. The McAllen Police Department previously identified Morales as a suspect in the death of Raymundo Martinez-Gutierrez.
According to previous reports, Martinez-Gutierrez died after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a business on Dec. 19, 2023, at the 2800 block of Business Highway 83 in McAllen.
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Officers at the scene said there were multiple gunshot wounds on Martinez-Gutierrez.
A criminal complaint identified Morales and a second individual — Jose Geovani Ipina-Rosales — as the suspects who “chased Raymundo in a white Ford Expedition, cut him off in his silver Mazda 3, and shot him from the front passenger side.”
Channel 5 News reached out to the McAllen Police Department to see Rosales remains on the run.
According to a DPS news release, Morales was arrested after a DPS trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a black Chevrolet Tahoe on Leeve Road and Military Road in Mission at around 5 p.m. Tuesday. The driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued that ended on FM 494.
Five people, including Morales and two undocumented migrants, were in the vehicle, DPS said.
The driver, 17-year-old Nathan Iracheta of Pharr, was arrested on charges of smuggling of persons and evading arrest. A 19-year-old from Mexico identified as Erik Gonzalez Torres was identified as the guide and charged with smuggling of persons, the release stated.
Records show Morales remains at the Hidalgo County jail on drug charges and a $25,000 bond.
The two undocumented migrants were placed in Border Patrol custody.
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