Accused Texas gunman Francisco Oropesa could face death penalty for ‘execution-style’ murder of 5 neighbors, including 9-year-old
The Mexican national accused of gunning down five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old, inside their Texas home could be put to death for the crime.
A grand jury indicted Francisco Oropesa, 38, Friday for capital murder for allegedly firing into the neighbors’ home after they asked him to stop shooting his gun so close to their property because it was waking a sleeping baby.
Whether prosecutors will pursue the punishment is yet to be decided.
“We have not decided whether we will seek the death penalty because the defense has not had an opportunity to present any mitigation evidence for the state to consider,” San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon told CNN.
“We will be sure to give them an opportunity to do so before making that decision.”
The indictment was not available from the court clerk’s office Friday, according to CNN.
Oropesa was charged in May with killing Diana Velásquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, all from Honduras.
Authorities said the accused killer was drunk when he burst into the home on April 28 and violently shot at his victims with an AR-15-style gun.
Oropesa indiscriminately fired at the 10 people inside the home, striking five of them — including the mother and 9-year-old brother of the infant whose cries set off the bloodbath — according to prosecutors.
Witnesses said those who were killed died using their bodies as shields to protect the children in the home.
The illegal immigrant — who had been deported from the US four times before the murders — fled the scene and was on the lam for four days, sparking an intense manhunt that prompted authorities to offer up an $80,000 reward for his capture.
Oropesa survived thanks to his wife, 53-year-old Divimara Lamar Nava, who allegedly delivered donuts to him at a bolthole just miles from the scene of the mass shooting and helped orchestrate an escape plan to Mexico.
The plan fell apart after authorities found Oropesa hiding under a pile of laundry inside a double-wide trailer.
Authorities called the alleged mass shooting a “coward” who shot his victims “execution-style” before fleeing.
He has since been charged with five counts of first-degree murder and was ordered held on bonds totaling $7.5 million.
Lamar Nava is also in custody for a felony charge of hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon. Her bail has been set at $250,000.
Oropesa’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
