"El Charal" Gunned Down in SLRC, Sonora Executed by the Police Who he Hunted

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Zeta

He fled Mexicali, Baja California because of the harassment of municipal and state police, who tied  him to the murder of the agent Ignacio Villagómez Robles, which occurred in April of this year. 

José Eduardo Pérez Jiménez, "El Charal",  only crossed the border and took refuge in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, where from June to date he is associated in at least 21 homicides. His reckless way of operating gave him fame and soon he found shelter in criminal groups linked to the Sinaloa Cartel; these behaviors changed for him on December 15, when he died at the hands of police and military who surrounded him in a house.

Despite being a fugitive from justice, Pérez did not cease his criminal activity and after multiple crimes, in addition to the murder of two Sanluisino police, in a few months he became a priority target for the Sonora authorities.

José Eduardo Pérez Jiménez, known as “El Charal”, carried many “ skulls ” on his back. The hitman who once belonged to Vicente Martínez González's cell “El Güilo”, operator of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Northern Zone of the Mexicali Valley, was a priority target for Sonoran authorities that related him to at least 21 homicides, since he crossed the border between San Luis and Mexicali, to take refuge from the Baja California prosecutor's office, where he was wanted for the murder of a municipal policeman named Ignacio Villagómez Robles, when he went to extort  a couple on the morning of April 15 in Ciudad Morelos.

Those who followed his trail at all times, were the municipal agents of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora whose operation did not cease until they found his lair and after a confrontation he was shot down in an exchange of gunfire the afternoon of December 15. Next to José Eduardo were his .223 caliber weapon and his girlfriend, Elsye Valenzuela Quintero, who also was shot at the agents.

"El Charal" was sentenced to be captured the day he allegedly murdered two agents of the Municipal Police of San Luis Río Colorado, named Raúl Ramos and Ricardo Castro, while having dinner at a Chinese food restaurant on Calzada Monterrey and Nuevo León B.

It was 7:40 p.m. when the emergency call was issued by witnesses to the incident, requesting urgent attention by police and paramedics, since a subject had detonated a thick caliber weapon inside a room, leaving two injured preventive agents.

The mobilization was generated immediately and in a short time it was possible to locate a pick-up vehicle like the one used by thugs to perpetrate the crime; little by little, the investigation defined the main objective of the double homicide, which caused great pain in the corporation, because apparently his colleagues did not have a negative history and everything pointed to “El Charal” had erred in his objective.

Police and journalistic versions suggest that he was attempting to attack an agent named Francisco, but he had changed patrol during those days.

Without a definite order, they began the hunt for the hitman. They closed entrances and exits of the municipality with such rapidity, that the aggressor could not escape and had to take refuge in a safe house, where he was killed in days later.

The official version shows that its location was a result of an emergency call indicating the presence of armed people on Callejón de Mayo 5, between streets 25 and 26. Upon arriving at the scene, the agents were met with a shower of projectiles. of .223 caliber weapon, for which support from more uniformed personnel and military personnel was requested, who killed the offender, "El Charal".

Another narrative indicates that municipal policemen did field work to track friendships and close people, where “El Charal” could be a refugee. The work went unceased until the 45-minute confrontation, where he was shot down with his girlfriend, in addition to capturing the 30-year-old Aldo Rubén López López, who, when surrounded, surrendered to the authorities.

José Eduardo Pérez Jiménez had already faced Sonoran police before. On December 3, a day before the double homicide of police officers, he exchanged gunfire with two state agents who stopped a Cadillac vehicle on Avenida Escalodias B, between 47th and 48th streets. When they were preparing to board it, a Chevrolet Silverado unit crossed by them and someone opened fire against him. One of the agents life was saved  thanks to the bulletproof vest, the other was unharmed.

The deceased was also investigated for the murder of Alma Brigit Cázares, 23, when he left the gym where he was exercising, located on Avenida Tlaxcala between 23 and 24. Also, for the triple homicide of the alleged hit men Alexis Rodríguez, 14 ; Moisés Ortega and Armando Flores, 17, after they ended the life of Julián Adán Rodríguez, 19.

                                                              Police confrontation
A 40-year-old native of Ciudad Morelos in the Mexicali Valley, nicknamed "El Charal" for his squalid complexion, he was identified by Baja California authorities as a criminal in 2008, when he was admitted to the Social Reintegration Center of the State Capital by the crimes of carrying a firearm and possession of cartridges. At the same time, it had previous inquiries about robbery with violence, qualified robbery, home room, house raid, family violence, among others.

However, Pérez Jiménez became relevant to the authorities in 2013, when he was detained while carrying weapons for the exclusive use of the Army.

Similarly, he was linked to criminal groups in the Mexicali Valley and, until March 2018, his name arose among the inquiries after the murder of Jesús Martínez Ruiz, known as “El Güero Pangas”, when he was on board a Chevrolet Silverado blue pick-up - accompanied by a woman named Bertha Mendoza - through the streets of Ciudad Morelos.

José Eduardo Pérez Jiménez was the main suspect of the crime, part of a chain of homicides raised by those dates in the city and in the Valley of Mexicali.

However, in April of the current year, when the murder of the municipal police Ignacio Villagómez Robles was perpetrated, the situation got out of control.

The cameras of the patrol and an agent who managed to escape from the shooting, were decisive to tie "El Charal" with the crime, so a hunt against him began in which preventive agents " busted " homes throughout the populated in their search, but until now was not possible to find the person in charge.