Neighbor dispute ends in tragedy: El Paso man faces capital murder in double shooting death
A 68-year-old El Paso man will now face a capital murder charge after a second person has died from a shooting during an argument between neighbors earlier this month in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso Police Department and El Paso District Attorney's Office are working on filing a capital murder charge against Mario Velazquez Lechuga in connection with a fatal shooting Friday, Oct. 13, in the 7600 block of Parral Drive in the Hacienda Heights neighborhood, police said.
James Burton, 62, was allegedly shot by Velazquez in the abdomen and died at the hospital the day of the shooting, while Joseph Carter, 54, suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and was receiving medical treatment at a hospital, a criminal complaint affidavit states.
Carter died Oct. 20 at the hospital from his injuries, police said.
Velazquez was initially arrested on suspicion of murder. He was then charged Oct. 19 with two additional counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
With the death of Carter, Velazquez will now be facing an enhanced charge of capital murder, police said.
The shooting happened before 8 a.m. Oct. 13 when Velazquez was working on his front lawn and then started arguing for "unknown reasons" with Burton and Carter, who were across the street from his house, a criminal complaint affidavit states.
Burton and Velazquez "had a history of having neighbor disputes," police said.
The argument escalated with Velazquez allegedly grabbing a gun, walking to the neighbors' houses and firing at the two men. Carter was shot in the right shoulder.
Velazquez then walked to his house while Burton started to walk over to the home of another neighbor, 65-year-old Ernesto Sanchez, the affidavit states.
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Sanchez walked out of his house to see what was happening and met with Burton.
Velazquez then walked toward the men and began firing at them, the affidavit states. Burton was shot in the abdomen.
Velazquez allegedly then pointed the gun at Sanchez and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't go off. Sanchez then ran inside his house and Velazquez fired the weapon, striking the door, the affidavit states. Sanchez was not injured in the shooting.
Burton walked towards a house and eventually collapsed, the affidavit states. Neighbors then provided first aid to Burton until police arrived.
Velazquez walked back into his house.
El Paso police officers responded to the report of the shooting. They arrived at the scene and found Burton lying on the sidewalk.
Burton and Carter were taken to Del Sol Medical Center.
Witnesses told police Velazquez was last seen with a gun entering his home.
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Officers set up a perimeter around the house and began to call for Velazquez to exit the home through the front door, the affidavit states.
Velazquez obeyed the orders and was arrested.
A "live 9 mm ammunition" was found on Velazquez, the affidavit states.
Velazquez's home was searched and officers found a handgun on a bed in the master bedroom, the affidavit states.
He was booked Saturday, Oct. 14, into the El Paso County Jail on a $700,000 bond.
A bond hearing was held Oct. 18, where a magistrate judge denied a motion to have his bond reduced. He has remained in jail since the shooting.
Velazquez is now expected to be rebooked into the El Paso County Jail on a capital murder charge, officials said.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Neighbor dispute leads to capital murder charge in El Paso shooting
