Mexican cartel leader 'El Gato' connected to Southlake slaying arrested
(CBSDFW.COM) - The Mexican Attorney General's Office announced the arrest of Beltran Leyva cartel member José Rodolfo Villareal-Hernandez, aka El Gato, for the 2013 killing of Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa in Southlake Town Square.
The 43-year-old was gunned down in broad daylight with his wife sitting by his side in their Range Rover. Chapa was allegedly a lawyer for the notoriously violent Gulf Cartel drug trafficking organization and an informant for the U.S. government. Chapa, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, was shot at least five times. Police said most of the bullets hit him in the upper torso. His slaying was the first killing in Southlake in more than a decade.
Villareal-Hernandez was arrested in Mexico City, according to a Jan 8 tweet from the Mexico Attorney General's office.
Former United States Attorney Paul Coggins said his arrest sends a strong signal of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico.
"What that's telling the Cartel members... is it's not just from the bottom up but from the top down as well."
"Mexico City The Attorney General of the Republic obtained from a judge the legal detention of an insured person in Mexico City, and who is requested by authorities of the United States of America for his probable responsibility in the crimes of interstate stalking and criminal association to commit homicide," the tweet read in part.
Three other men: Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda and Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes were previously indicted on interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder for hire charges.
Ledezma-Campano testified in 2016 that his father was hired by El Gato to find Chapa. Earlier witnesses said El Gato wanted to kill Chapa because he thought he was responsible for the death of his father. He also testified that El Gato spent $1 million on the operation and then rewarded Ledezma-Cepeda with a BMW and a hunting trip. He also said the killing was celebrated with a big party.
Ledezma-Campano and Cepeda-Cortes were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
In 2018, a federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, for Villarreal-Hernandez. Two years later, he was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives in 2020. At that time, the U.S. Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading directly to his arrest.
Coggins said the next step for the extradition process to start for Villarreal-Hernandez from Mexico. He also said, when he returns, Villarreal-Hernandez is facing the death penalty.
