by BRAD ROLLINS
The Hays County Sheriff’s office has arrested a fourth suspect in the murder last month of a Lockhart man whose body was discovered in the bed of a pickup truck during a traffic stop in New Braunfels.
All four men charged with murder in the death of Walter Capello, 35, have “strong connections” to the Mexican Mafia as does the victim himself, Sheriff Tommy Ratliff said this week. The last of the publicly known suspects, Paul Tovar, 42, of the San Marcos area was apprehended in Houston on Saturday when he agreed to meet with sheriff’s office investigator Gilbert Castro.
Investigators believe Cappello was killed on Aug. 31, said Mark Graves, the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations division head. His body was badly mutilated and wrapped in plastic when a New Braunfels police officer stopped the southbound truck in New Braunfels on Sept. 1.
“While we can’t speculate about the exact nature of why this slaying happened, we feel certain the persons involved are in custody today,” Ratliff said on Monday at a press conference.
Neither Ratliff nor Graves said where in Hays County the murder is thought to have occurred.
Eloy Davila Jr., 52 , of Wimberley; Nemesio Garcia Jr., 31, of San Marcos; Johnny Gilbert Soliz Jr., 45 , of San Marcos; and Tovar, 42, have been charged with one count of murder each in connection with the case. All are in the Hays County Jail, with bail for each set at $750,000.
Law enforcement officials have been more tight-lipped than usual about the case, declining even to name all the state and federal investigators participating in the investigation, although the U.S. Marshals office and the Texas Rangers are known to be involved.
“As this develops, you’ll see why” officials can’t now say much about the crime’s context or what law enforcement agencies are involved, Ratliff said.
The Mexican Mafia, often called La EME, was established in Texas in 1984 by Heriberto “Herbie” Huerta who was serving three life sentences in a Huntsville prison for murder conspiracy and racketeering.
The Texas organization is not officially tied to the gang that has operated under the same name in California for more than 50 years, according to insideprison.com. The website estimates that the gang has 30,000 members across the United States.
