SOCORRO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A grieving widow is demanding justice tonight, calling on prosecutors to charge two juveniles as adults in the murder of her husband.
“He was a very good person, a good father, a good son, a good husband, a very good worker who did everything possible to help his family get ahead,” said Areli Marquez about her late husband, Jose Avila, who was shot and killed in his own driveway. A crime that has shattered the life of Areli and her four children.
“They didn’t think about the consequences,” Marquez said. “They have no idea of the pain they have caused us. They completely destroyed our family. They left my children without the father.”
The physical scars are still visible on the house.
Bullet holes pierce the stucco walls and the garage door. Reminders of a normal night gone horribly wrong.
Marquez says she and her 33-year-old husband allowed their teenage kids to host a gathering, but an argument broke out.
Investigators say four people who weren’t invited pulled out guns.
As the group sped away in a car, shots were fired back at the house, killing Jose.
“They were people who showed up without an invitation. We had no idea who these people were,” Marquez said. “My children didn’t know them and they weren’t here very long, maybe half an hour before we asked them to leave.”
Robert Holguin reports on Grieving widow demands justice, accountability in Socorro shooting (Credit: KFOX14)
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Deputies have arrested two teenagers allegedly connected to that car, 17-year-old David Ramirez and 19-year-old Gael Quintana.
Both are out on bond for lesser charges, such as disorderly conduct and tampering with evidence.
But the actual shooters? Investigators say they are just 15 and 16 years old. And because they are minors, they are currently in the juvenile court system.
That is where Areli’s battle for justice begins. She is demanding that those two teenagers be tried as adults.
“I want them to go on trial as adults,” she said. “I want justice for the memory of my husband. They didn’t come here acting as children. They came to destroy my family.”
In Texas, anyone 14 or older can be tried as an adult for violent crimes, but it’s not automatic.
District Attorney James Montoya would have to petition the court to transfer the case, and a judge would have to agree.
We asked D.A. Montoya if he plans to seek that transfer. His office deferred to the El Paso County Attorney, who handles juvenile cases.
In a written statement, Elhiu Dominguez, a spokesman for the County Attorney, said, “all juvenile records and proceedings are confidential, including whether a case has been filed, the status of any proceedings, and any potential consideration of certification or transfer to adult court. As a result, we cannot confirm or deny whether our office has any cases pending against the individuals you referenced, nor can we discuss any prosecutorial decisions or plans.”
For Areli, it’s a waiting game she says she shouldn’t have to play. She says she won’t let her husband’s senseless death become just another file in the juvenile system.
“More than anything, I think they need to get tough on adolescents,” she said. “Because if they let them get away with this, with minimal punishment, then what kind of message are you sending the community?”
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