Man thinks car belongs to rival gang, fatally shoots ‘grieving couple,’ Texas cops say
A killing spree by a documented gang member left five people dead in 2019, including a “grieving couple” that had just left a hospital, according to Texas prosecutors.
Christian Ivan Cavazos, 22, was sentenced to life in prison in the shootings, the Harris County district attorney said on Sept. 21. Cavazos pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, the news release said.
His attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Sept. 24.
It was Sept. 25, 2019, when 65-year-old Ramiro Reyes and his wife, Rosalva Reyes, 63, left a hospital after the wife’s mother had just died, prosecutors said. Cavazos spotted their purple Dodge Charger and followed it, thinking it belonged to a rival gang, according to officials.
When the couple arrived at their Houston home, Cavazos fired shots at them as they got out of their car, killing them, prosecutors said.
Weeks before, Cavazos was in a car with a group of men when they fired shots at another vehicle, officials said. The driver was struck and pulled over into an industrial area, prosecutors said.
Cavazos’ vehicle followed them into the industrial area. The then-17-year-old walked up to the parked car and fatally shot 19-year-old Ryan McGowan in the backseat on Sept. 6, 2019, according to prosecutors.
In December, when Cavazos was 18 years old, he fired several shots in a drive-by shooting, the release said.
The two victims, Gonzalo Andrew Gonzalez, 22, and Jonathan Jimenez, 20, were making a music video when they were killed on Dec. 27, 2019, according to officials. Seven other people were injured.
“So many people, so many families will never have peace because of the indiscriminate violence this man inflicted on our community,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
A notice of appeal was filed on Sept. 20, the day of the sentencing, according to court records. Court documents did not detail the reason for an appeal.
This story was originally published September 24, 2024 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Man thinks car belongs to rival gang, fatally shoots ‘grieving couple,’ Texas cops say."
