Reputed gang member arrested in El Paso murder case facing federal gun, smuggling charges

A reputed gang member awaiting trial in the 2019 fatal shooting of a Fort Bliss soldier now faces federal gun and smuggling charges after allegedly trying to organize the sale of guns while in jail, court records show.

Joseph Anthony Rocha-Chaparro, 21, was indicted March 8 by a federal grand jury on one count each of trafficking in firearms, straw purchasing of firearms and conspiracy to smuggle goods from the U.S.

He was set to go to trial May 26 in state district court in connection with the fatal shooting of Army Spc. DeAngelo Monteza Meriweather at a 2019 house party in Central El Paso, but the federal charges have delayed the case.

A new trial date in state court has not been set, court records show.

"We are just in a holding pattern on state charges at the moment," said lawyer Justin Underwood, who is representing Rocha-Chaparro in state court. "We need to let the federal case run its course and then we can possibly resolve our case. I definitely feel that Mr. Rocha has a legitimate self-defense and defense of third party case that can be presented if we don’t reach an agreement."

Matthew DeKoatz is listed as Rocha-Chaparro's federal court lawyer. He could not be reached for comment.

Federal gun, smuggling charges

Rocha-Chaparro is accused of a calling a woman, Josefina Escobar-Lizalde, on Jan. 24 while he was in the El Paso County Jail on the murder charge. He asked Escobar-Lizalde to check with a federally licensed firearms dealer about the availability of 9 mm caliber Glock pistols, a federal indictment states.

Escobar-Lizalde later called Rocha-Chaparro, stating that the dealer had a Glock model 19 and a Glock model 48, each for $499.

Rocha-Chaparro told her to try to buy both pistols. She attempted to buy the weapons and filled out legally required firearms transaction records. However, she was denied the purchases, the indictment states. No reason is given as to why she was denied.

He then told Escobar-Lizalde to inquire about buying a Rock Island .45 caliber pistol.

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Escobar-Lizalde then told Rocha-Chaparro that an interested buyer called asking about the price and caliber of a pistol that had a picture of the “Virgen,” referring to the Virgin Mary, the indictment states.

The buyer is referred to in the indictment as a defendant in the case, but his name is redacted in both indictments filed against Rocha-Chaparro and Escobar-Lizalde. No other people are listed as defendants tied to the case in federal court records.

A three-way phone call was held between Rocha-Chaparro, Escobar-Lizalde and the unnamed buyer.

Escobar-Lizalde was then tasked with smuggling the gun from the U.S. to Mexico, the indictment states.

Rocha-Chaparro allegedly told Escobar-Lizalde not to bring a purse the first time she crossed the international bridge into Mexico so that law enforcement would not check her.

Escobar-Lizalde told him that she would tape the gun on her body and wear loose clothing so that law enforcement would not inspect her, the indictment states.

She later called Rocha-Chaparro to tell him the buyer texted her, asking if they could bring the pistol with the picture of the "Virgen" and the buyer would pay $1,300 for it, the indictment states.

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Escobar-Lizalde again called Rocha-Chaparro and allegedly told him she was going to cross the Paso Del Norte international bridge in Downtown El Paso and was meeting with the buyer on the Mexican side of the border.

Rocha-Chaparro asked her in Spanish if she had the firearm secured. She replied she was in the restroom attempting to secure it on her body, the indictment states.

He then called her again. She told him she had crossed the border and was with the buyer.

The buyer then got on the phone with Rocha-Chaparro and told him he had a friend who wanted to buy 15 "cuernos." Cuernos is Spanish slang for AK-47-type rifles, the indictment states.

Later, Rocha-Chaparro video called Escobar-Lizalde, asking to see the money, the indictment states. She allegedly showed him a bundle of $100 bills.

Escobar-Lizalde faces five federal counts in connection with the alleged gun-selling and smuggling scheme. The charges are trafficking in firearms, straw purchasing of firearms, conspiracy to smuggle goods from the U.S., smuggling goods from the U.S., and false statement during an attempted firearm acquisition.

Her case remains pending in federal court. She is being held at the El Paso County Jail without bond, according to federal court records and county jail records.

State murder charge

The federal charges against Rocha-Chaparro come as he remains in jail awaiting trial in the fatal shooting of Meriweather in 2019.

The shooting happened about 1:50 a.m. Oct. 19, 2019, when a fight broke out at a party at an apartment in the 3800 block of Truman Avenue in the Lower Dyer area.

The fight involved several people, including Rocha-Chaparro, who allegedly took out a handgun and began firing in different directions, El Paso Police Department officials said at the time of the incident.

The shooting killed Meriweather, 21, and wounded four others, including two other Fort Bliss soldiers, police and Fort Bliss officials said.

The other people wounded were Juan Mata, Asia Knight, and Fort Bliss soldiers Markendy Dessources and Kevin Marincuellar.

Meriweather was shot on the left side of his body and was taken to University Medical Center of El Paso, where he died less than an hour later, a state criminal complaint affidavit states.

He had been in the Army since 2017 and was stationed at Fort Bliss in January 2018, post officials said.

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Rocha-Chaparro was identified in the affidavit as a member of the Gangster Disciples, a street gang originating in Chicago with a presence at Fort Bliss and in El Paso, the El Paso Times reported.

A witness description of the shooter was “immediately recognized” as Rocha-Chaparro by police gang investigators assisting homicide detectives with the investigation, the affidavit states.

Along with the murder charge, Rocha-Chaparro faces one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso murder suspect now faces federal gun and smuggling charges