Criminal Complaint: Shooting suspect followed BP agent from Far East EP home to I-10
The man accused of firing a weapon at an off-duty Border Patrol agent allegedly followed the agent from the agent’s Far East El Paso home to the freeway near Horizon City, court documents state.
On Friday, October 27, 2017, investigators arrested Rafael Roberto Valenzuela and charged him with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon. Valenzuela was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $200,000 bond.
A criminal complaint obtained by ABC-7 states sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a home in Far East El Paso on October 25, 2017 to investigate reports of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
When investigators arrived at the residence, the victim identified himself as a Border Patrol agent.
The agent said he walked out of his residence shortly after 5 am and noticed a black car with tinted windows driving past his residence very slowly. The agent said he left for work and reported the suspicious vehicle to El Paso Police.
On his way to work, the agent pulled into a Valero gas station to fill up. The agent noticed the suspicious vehicle also pulled into the Valero and parked adjacent to his vehicle.
The driver of the suspicious vehicle entered the Valero, the agent told police.
As both vehicles exited the gas station minutes later, the agent drove behind the suspicious vehicle to write down its license plate number. The agent was able to write down the first three letters and called police a second time to report he was being followed.
As the agent was driving on Loop 375 in the direction of I-10, he purposely drove on the right lane as if he was going to take the I-10 West exit ramp.
At the last minute, the agent switched to the left to take the I-10 East exit ramp. The agent, still on the phone with police, noticed the suspicious vehicle “abruptly switching lanes to follow him onto I-10,” the criminal complaint states.
Moments later, the agent told police the suspicious vehicle, which appeared to be a black Ford, drove up next to him and that he was being shot at. The shooting was reported at I-10 East near mile marker 36. The agent told police the suspicious vehicle exited the freeway at the Horizon Boulevard exit.
When investigators arrived, the agent told them the man he saw exit the vehicle at the Valero station was the same man he saw inside the suspicious vehicle as he was being shot at.
A criminal complaint states investigators were able to use the partial license plate number obtained by the agent to conduct a search. The investigation led sheriff’s deputies to a 2014 Ford four door passenger car registered to Rafael Roberto Valenzuela, of the 500 block of Riverview Circle in El Paso. Investigators also obtained surveillance footage from the Valero, which allegedly shows Valenzuela exiting the black Ford allegedly following the agent.
Deputies included Valenzuela in a photo lineup and the agent was able to identify Valenzuela as the man he saw at the Valero and inside the black Ford during the shooting.
A criminal complaint states the agent’s vehicle had three bullet holes in the driver’s side door. The agent was not hurt, investigators said.
Sheriff’s deputies investigating the shooting arrested two other suspects allegedly involved in the shooting.
On Monday, October 30, 2017, investigators arrested Raul Beltran and charged him with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon. Beltran was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $75,000.
On Wednesday November 1, 2017, investigators arrested and Sebastian Aldaz and charged him with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon. Aldaz is being held at the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $ 200,000 bond.
