L-R: Alfredo “El Diablo” Reyna, Joel Velasquez Rios (via Rio Grande City (Tex.) Police)
A man known as “El Diablo” who was indicted on a murder charge in a 2021 slaying in a Texas border town was captured in Mexico and turned over to U.S. authorities, officials said.
The man’s real name is Alfredo Reyna, but he went by “El Diablo” which means the devil in Spanish. He was charged in the slaying of Sergio Sanchez in Rio Grande City. According to a press release from the U.S. Border Patrol, officers took custody of Reyna, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen, from Mexican officials mid-bridge on Wednesday at the Roma Port of Entry, which is not far from Rio Grande City, about 130 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
“After allegedly escaping to Mexico subsequent to the crime, Reyna has been successfully apprehended and is poised to confront the stern measures of our legal system,” 229th District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez said in a statement.
Officers from the Rio Grande City Police Department were called to a home at around 9 p.m. Dec. 29, 2021, and found Sanchez, 38, suffering from a gunshot wound and blunt force trauma to the head.
The day after the murder, Rio Grande City police identified Reyna, along with Joel Velasquez Rios, as suspects in the slaying. Velasquez Rios has not been arrested, according to Rio Grande Valley ABC affiliate KRGV. Authorities believed Reyna fled to Mexico after the shooting.
The indictment was previously held under seal until Wednesday’s announcement, according to Ramirez.
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“This crucial development marks substantial progress in our quest for justice on behalf of Mr. Sanchez and his family,” Ramirez said.
Several authorities aided in Reyna’s detention including the FBI, the Border Prosecution Unit and the U.S. Marshals Service, along with Mexican officials.
“Their relentless dedication has ensured Reyna will answer for his alleged deeds,” Ramirez said.
After Reyna was taken back into the U.S., border patrol agents used biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases to confirm his identity, the U.S. Border Patrol press release said. He was taken by High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force Area officers to Starr County Jail. The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a database designed to share information among law enforcement agencies. It has been used to make arrest on people wanted for homicide, money laundering and drug distribution, among other charges.
“Our frontline CBP officers continue to work closely with our Government of Mexico, state and local law enforcement partners and assisted in taking custody and verifying a warrant for a man wanted for a violent alleged crime in the U.S.,” said Roma Port of Entry Port Director Andres Guerra in a statement.
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