Court documents: El Paso teen robbed, killed, set on fire following botched cocaine deal

A botched cocaine deal ended with a 19-year-old El Paso man beaten to death with a baseball bat, set on fire and dumped in the desert, according court documents.

Tristan Lee Mina, 19, was reported missing on April 11. His body was found April 15 in the Hudspeth County desert.

According to the complaint affidavit obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team, Mina was selling cocaine to three men, who allegedly robbed and killed him.

Today, El Paso police said Samuel Rico, 20; Jose Guadalupe Andrade, 25; and Jesse Adrian Martinez, 19, have been charged with capital murder in connection with Mina’s death. They were booked into the El Paso County Jail without bond.

The El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Person Units sought help locating Mina on April 11. Investigators said relative last saw Mina leaving his home on the 600 block of Alicante Way about 2 a.m. on April 9.

Later that morning, police were called out to nearby 500 Buena Suerte, where a passerby spotted a puddle of blood and several items police said belong to Mina, including his cellphone and cash, court documents state.

Investigators checked the last number with which Mina communicated and requested information from T-Mobile on the phone number. That led them to Abner Robles, who had recently been cited along with Martinez.

According to the arrest affidavit, investigators questioned Rico, Robles and Martinez, who alleged Andrade killed Mina. They also told investigators that Rico, Martinez and Andrade devised a plan to rob Mina of money and drugs.

Rico and Martinez told investigators Andrade hit Mina in the back of the head with a baseball bat, causing him to fall to the ground, according to the court documents. Andrade allegedly hit Mina four to five more times.

Rico told investigators he and Andrade put Mina inside the trunk of Rico’s and drove out to the desert where Mina’s body was set on fire and buried, the document states.

Robles said Rico, Martinez and Andrade told him they robbed and killed Mina. Robles also said he drove Andrade and Martinez to the desert, where Andrade allegedly burned a box containing Mina’s clothes.

On April 11, Robles, Rico and Andrade returned to the desert and allegedly burned pieces of carpet from the trunk of Rico’s cars. Martinez, Rico and Andrade also spray washed Rico’s car, according the complaint affidavit.

On April 9, investigators went to Mina’s home, but he was not there. They also went to his workplace, where employees said he had not shown up for his shift. Mina was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with a Chili’s logo on the side.

According to Mina’s Facebook page, he worked at Chili’s and went to Franklin High School.

Mina’s mother, Lorraine M. Mina, posted several pictures of her son on Facebook when he went missing.

“It seems I never post anything until something bad occurs …,” Lorraine Mina posted. “My son Tristan is missing. (19yrs)We suspect foul play… The police have his belongings. These are things he would never leave in the middle of the street! Please pray for his safe return.These are his 2 little ones Brayden and Jayden.”

The pictures include one of a woman holding the two baby boys.

The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office told ABC-7 that Mina’s body was found in Hudspeth County. A justice of the peace there requested an autopsy, which was performed by Legacy Mortuary in El Paso, with a representative from the El Paso County ME’s in person. According to ME’s office, this is usually standard when bodies are outside ME’s jurisdiction. Legacy Mortuary, which confirmed to ABC-7 the body was found in Hudspeth County on April 15, said the autopsy report and other information will be provided by the JP who signed off on it, Judge Margie Aguilar of Hudspeth County.

Attached is a link to Tristan Mina’s Go Fund Me page, if you are interested in helping the Mina family.