HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A man already wanted by immigration authorities has been charged with murder after claiming the teen he’s accused of killing shot himself, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
Jose Gregorio Blanco Moreno, 21, was arrested Aug. 12 and booked into the Harris County Jail, court documents stated.<\/p>\n
Deputies say they were called to an apartment on Ella Boulevard near Kuykendahl the afternoon of July 27, where Blanco Moreno was living with four other people.<\/p>\n
Investigators say 16-year-old Jhowel Rafael Hernandez Castro, whose cousin is dating Blanco Moreno, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound.<\/p>\n
According to a search warrant Eyewitness News obtained, Blanco Moreno changed his story while speaking with detectives.<\/p>\n
First, he claimed he didn’t hear the gunshot and was woken up by the victim.<\/p>\n
He then claimed that the gunshot woke him up and he rose to find the victim holding his gun.<\/p>\n
After waking up a roommate and unsuccessfully performing CPR, Blanco Moreno claimed he unloaded the gun and hid it in a kitchen cabinet.<\/p>\n
Investigators say they couldn’t find gun residue on the victim’s body and determined he had been shot at long range.<\/p>\n
“The angle of the bullet made it essentially impossible for the person to have shot himself,” a hearing officer said at Blanco Moreno’s probable cause hearing on Aug. 13.<\/p>\n
ICE confirms that Blanco Moreno is a Venezuelan national who is in the U.S. illegally.<\/p>\n
They say he was arrested by Border Patrol in Dec. 2023 but then released with a notice to appear in immigration court.<\/p>\n
ICE says Blanco Moreno never appeared and that a judge ordered his removal in May 2024.<\/p>\n
He wasn’t apprehended until his arrest on the murder charge on Aug. 12.<\/p>\n
ICE has placed a hold on Blanco Moreno, meaning that should he ever be released from jail, he’ll be taken into ICE’s custody.<\/p>\n
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