The police in Houston, Texas arrested and charged a father and his two sons Monday with last month’s fatal ambush and shooting of a top Dominican Republic lawmaker’s son, according to statements.
Hernan Torres, Sr. 50, Hernan Torres, Jr. 25, and Hernando Torres, 19, were charged with allegedly fatally shooting 34-year-old Luis Alfredo Pacheco and critically injuring another victim, 29, Apr. 1, according to a statement from the Houston Police Department (HPD) released Monday.
The three suspects ambushed Pacheco and three other men at a convenience store on 2490 South Wayside Drive in the Gulfgate Riverview/Pine Valley neighborhood and fired multiple shots at the four men while they sat in an SUV preparing to leave the store, the statement alleged. The HPD obtained and distributed surveillance photos of the suspects. Two of the photos appear to show the senior Torres and one of his sons bearing what appeared to be assault rifles in a shooting position, as shared by the HPD on Twitter Apr. 2. At the time, the suspects were simply identified as “adult Hispanic males wearing white,” according to the statement.
Two of the four victims ran out of the SUV to escape back into the store but the suspects—who drove into the area and blocked the victims from driving out—fired multiple shots at them, HPD Assistant Chief Adrian Rodiguez alleged during a preliminary media briefing at the scene Apr. 2. Both victims managed to get back into the store, and one of them was armed with a pistol, Rodriguez further alleged. The incident appeared to be a targeted attack, according to Rodriguez. (RELATED: Victim In Serious Condition As Police Investigate Shooting Outside Of Drake’s Home)
Pacheco, one of the two victims, was declared dead in a hospital, the HPD’s statement noted. The HPD identified Pacheco as the son of Alfredo Pacheco, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic. The elder Pacheco’s position is equivalent to that of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson.
The bereaved father put out a statement on Twitter Apr. 2 regarding the shooting. “With great regret, I announce the unexpected death of my son LUIS ALFREDO PACHECO ROJAS, who lived outside the country. This fact is currently under investigation,” his tweet partly read.
The U.S. Marshals were involved in the subsequent arrests of the two sons, while their father was in custody in Philadelphia on separate charges and awaited extradition to Harris County, the HPD revealed.
The elder Torres is a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, KHOU 11 reported Tuesday.
Prosecutors sought a $250,000 bond for each of the younger suspects, according to the report. The judge, however, had a different argument.
“Given the alleged nature of this offense—the orchestrated assault and pursuit of Mr. Pacheco had allegedly got out of the vehicle, turned and fled—gentlemen, I’m setting a bond for each of you in the amount of $2 million,” the judge said, as the elder Torres’ sons glanced at each other, according to court footage aired by KHOU 11.
The sons reportedly had no criminal history and lived with their father and mother in their childhood home.
Authorities did not report any motive for the attack.