Jocotepec’s municipal police force has been credited with the capture of ten suspects linked to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) following the January 5 fatal shooting of a woman on the outskirts of Tuxcueca.
The shooting occurred at 1:25 a.m. at the junction of Highway 15 and the road leading to Mazamitla, where a group of armed men aboard a black Chevrolet Avalanche and a white Mitsubishi truck were allegedly keeping watch against the passage of criminal rivals. Spotting the approach of an un-plated Ford Frontier truck, they blocked the way. When the driver, a local man traveling with his wife and infant daughter, attempted to back up and escape, the gunmen opened fire. Erika Esparza Mora, 22, died instantly from gunshot wounds to the head and back. Her husband and child were not injured and managed to rush away into town to seek help.
The shooters immediately fled from the scene, heading towards west towards Jocotepec. En route, the driver of Mitubishi flipped over and crashed. He and his companions were reportedly picked up by cohorts aboard a red Chevrolet Tahoe.Alerted to the shooting, Jocotepec police posted near the entrance of town intercepted the two vehicles carrying the gunmen. They detained five minors ages 15 to 17, along with Javier Ochoa Bautista, 30, Manuel Gonzalez Alonso, 24, Francisco Ismael Grimaldo Mendoza, 18, all with home addresses in Jocotepec, and Manuel Mercado Cruz, 34, and Pedro Magallón Orozco, 18, both from San Jose de Gracia, Michoacan, just across the Jalisco border. Officers also retrieved three AR-15 assault rifles, three pistols and 81 rounds of ammunition.
According to Luis Gabriel Sanchez, regional supervisor of Ministerio Publico district attorney offices, the suspects face charges of homicide, attempted homicide and involvement in organized crime.