EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 39-year-old man has confessed to the murder of a man in Socorro after a verbal argument, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
Oscar Rodriguez, 39, was arrested and charged in the shooting death of Joel Holguin, 36. According to court records, Rodriguez is held on a $500,000 bond.
Socorro Police Department officers spoke with a witness on Thursday, Aug. 1, who was a long-time neighbor of the victim and father of Rodriguez. The witness told police that Rodriguez got into an argument with the victim at roughly noon and said to the witness, “Lo maté,” (“I killed him” in English), according to court documents.
The witness reportedly saw the victim lying on the side of his house with a gunshot wound to his chest. Rodriguez told the witness that the victim and Rodriguez got into a fight inside the victim’s home, according to court documents.
Rodriguez told the witness that he had a gun, and the victim and Rodriguez then began to fight for the weapon. Rodriguez was able to gain control of the gun and shot the victim in the chest; the witness said Rodriguez had a handgun in his pocket, the documents show.
Rodriguez told the witness to help put the victim’s body in the witness’ truck and threatened to shoot the witness if he didn’t help. According to the documents, the witness told officers that he refused to help Rodriguez but allowed him to take his truck.
These court documents also say that the witness said that Rodriguez drove to the side of the house, put the victim’s body in the bed of the truck, placed a piece of carpet over the body, and drove away. The witness said that Rodriguez was gone for several hours and arrived back at the residence on foot at roughly 2 p.m.
As stated in the documents, the witness said that Rodriguez got the truck stuck in a canal bank near Dindinger and Glorietta Rd., then called a friend who did not know what happened and helped the witness and Rodriguez get the truck out.
Ditch riders from the Lower Valley Water District, who were passing by, helped the group by removing the truck. The official documents also added that the witness said Rodriguez and he drove back to the residence and that Rodriguez had washed the truck’s bed in the driveway.
The witness said he left the residence and drove the truck to his daughter’s house at 7:11 p.m. The witness and his daughter went to Socorro Police Station to report the incident.
According to court documents, the police arrived at the Socorro Police station at 10:25 p.m., where the red truck was parked. This detail provides a clear timeline of events following the incident.
Police said they observed what appeared to be blood on the front passenger seat of the vehicle and also observed water and what appeared to be blood in the bed of the truck.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for Rodriguez, and he was detained at his residence.
Court documents showed that police met with Rodriguez, and he admitted to shooting the victim during a struggle for his gun inside his home. Rodriguez said that the victim was a long-time friend and neighbor, and the victim went over to drink with Rodriguez on Thursday, Aug. 1,
Rodriguez said the victim became aggressive, and Rodriguez said that the victim usually carried a gun on him. He also said a struggle happened between the victim and him where he shot the victim, causing him to die on the front porch, according to court documents.
Rodriguez said when the witness arrived, the witness told him to call the police, but Rodriguez panicked and decided to load the victim’s body into the truck and dispose of it, according to court documents.
Rodriguez showed police where the victim’s body was left, in the desert area north of Interstate 10 and Fabens, several miles into the desert, ultimately ending in Hudspeth County.
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