EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The man charged with murder following a Dumpster fire on Friday night, May 29 in Central El Paso attacked the victim “for unknown reasons,” hit him, kicked him, stomped on his head and then set him on fire, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
Police looking into death linked to Dumpster fire
As KTSM 9 News previously reported, at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, officers were dispatched to the 900 block of North Florence in reference to a Dumpster fire at the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief.
When officers arrived, they found a man dead at the scene, according to the El Paso Police Department. The Crimes Against Persons Unit was called to take over the investigation.
Through the investigation, it was determined that the death was “suspicious in nature,” EPPD said.
On Sunday, May 31, the investigation led police to identify 41-year-old Heriberto Chavez as the person responsible for the murder. He was taken into custody and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility with no bond.
Heriberto Chavez. Photo courtesy of the El Paso Police Department.
The man who died at the scene has yet to be identified.
According to court documents, the suspect — identified as Chavez — was caught on video surveillance walking up to the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief at 915 N. Florence.
The video showed the victim laying on the ground next to the Dumpsters. The suspect is shown walking into the area, using his cell phone as a flashlight, according to court documents.
“An interaction” is shown between the victim and suspect.
“For unknown reasons, the defendant (Chavez) then repeatedly assaulted the victim by punching him with closed fists, kicking, getting on top of the victim and stomping the victim’s head and upper torso for several minutes,” according to court documents.
The suspect then got a piece of cardboard out of the Dumpster, placed it on top of the victim and then used an unknown item to light the victim on fire, court documents said.
As the fire increased, the suspect watched and placed additional items from the Dumpster to “feed the fire,” court documents said.
During this time, the suspect grabbed the Dumpster with “both hands” and continued to kick the victim multiple times, court documents said.
The suspect then walked away without making an attempt to put out the fire, court documents said.
Court documents also said that the suspect left his cell phone on the side of the Dumpster. The phone was knocked into the Dumpster by water pressure when the Fire Department arrived to put out the fire. The phone was later recovered.
Police ended up asking for and getting FBI assistance in analyzing the phone and was able to retrieve a phone number which eventually was linked to the suspect, according to court documents.
Video footage from another location showed greater detail of what the suspect was wearing that night.
Two days after the fire, police followed up to canvass the area around the crime scene. They met with three suspects at Florence and Rio Grande regarding an open alcohol container and detained the subjects.
One of those people who was detained was later determined to be the suspect in the alleged murder.
The suspect told police he had lost his phone. Police asked for his phone number, which he gave them. That phone number matched the number of the phone that was found at the crime scene, court documents said.
The suspect was taken to Police Headquarters on the open container violation, court documents said.
The suspect was taken to an interview room and read his Miranda rights.
During the interview, the suspect described his work and daily route. Police also learned that he lives about three blocks from the crime scene on Florence.
Investigators noted injuries to his right hand, a small cut to the little finger knuckle area and bruising to the top and bottom of his right wrist. The suspect also said he had a cut to his right shin.
He also described his clothes he had been wearing, which matched what was seen in the second video. He also said he had a purple lunch bag with him, which was found by police at the crime scene.
The suspect’s injuries to his hand and leg were consistent with the assault on the victim, court documents said.
The FBI’s analysis generated a phone number that matched the suspect’s and it showed locations and movement consistent with the suspect’s account of his whereabouts on May 28 and May 29, court documents.
The suspect also told police that his feet and toes were injured, which were consistent with allegedly kicking the victim.
Court documents did not say if the two men knew each other or had had previous encounters.
This is the sixth murder compared to 11 at the same time last year.
In a social media post, the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief said it had to close its pantry on Saturday, May 30, due to the incident.
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