HOUSTON — Houston police have arrested at least two suspects in connection to last year's rush-hour shooting that killed two people on I-10 the East Freeway, court records show.
Jonathan Aleman, 29, and Jose Javier Hernandez, 25, are both charged with capital murder.
Their photos attached to this story are from previous arrests.
The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2019, according to the Houston Police Department. Binel Gasery, 33, and Bradley James Barker, 25, were shot and killed by another man who was on foot on the freeway.
Witnesses told police the shooter was in a dark color sedan with tinted windows and an unknown license plate. At least one witness said the shooter got out of the sedan with a "machine gun" in his hand, opening fire on the victims' Nissan Sentra as the victims backed up on the freeway to try and get away.
In court documents, police later said the weapon used was possibly an AK-47 or AR-15, according to multiple witness statements.
Another witness also told Houston police that before the shooting, the Nissan and the shooters' vehicle collided, causing the victims' Nissan to spin around and roll backward. That's when the shooter ran after the vehicle and opened fire on both men using a "long rifle." Both victims in the Nissan were believed to be shot in the chest.
A witness told authorities the killer didn't stop shooting until the witness got out a gun of his own and opened fire on the killer. The good Samaritan's gunfire caused the shooter to return to his getaway car, still on the freeway. Both the gunman and his alleged driver then fled.
The first officers on the scene found the victims, who were from Louisiana, already dead along with a "large quantity of marijuana," a BB gun and four cell phones, according to court records. Each also had $1,000 in cash in their pockets.
Court documents show, in the weeks that followed, investigators were able to use witness statements, surveillance video and data extracted from three of the victims' mobile phones to track down and link the two suspects charged with capital murder. Crime Stoppers of Houston also received two tips, one of which described the shooting as a "drug deal gone bad."
Upon his detainment and questioning, Aleman allegedly confessed to being involved in the crime and named the person who was driving the car he was in, believed to be a Chevrolet Impala.
"I made global news," he told investigators. "It was on every news station."
Aleman told investigators the shooting was indeed the result of a drug deal gone bad, and when he opened fire in busy traffic he wasn't trying to hurt anybody but the men who were killed.
"I know who I was going for," Aleman allegedly told police.
He also admitted to wearing clothes similar to those made in witness statements. He said the weapon he used was actually a Glock that "looked like a rifle." He claimed the weapon was later melted down and destroyed using a torch.
Aleman said his co-defendant, Hernandez, was earlier robbed of cash by the victims, and he was just taking care of the "dirty work" when he chased them down on I-10.
In court documents, HPD investigators indicated they believe "more than one or two people were involved in the murder" because area surveillance cameras captured multiple vehicles chasing the suspects, including a Porsche sedan, a black Chevrolet Impala and a grey Ford Focus hatchback.
Surveillance video from Hernandez's place of work, a barber shop, allegedly showed him making a "hand motion across his neck," a "common gesture associated with death." Witnesses at the barber shop told investigators that Hernandez made comments the following day that he had a drug deal go bad, and he was robbed.
At this time, no further murder charges have been announced, although court documents indicate the person who owns and was accused of driving the car the shooter was in was later taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge. His Impala was processed and looked over for evidence after investigators obtained a warrant.
At the time of the crime, Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said there was a "high probability the murders are drug-related."
Police thanked those witnesses who stayed at the scene to answer investigators' questions.
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