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Woman killed in Harlingen H.E.B.; Killer shoots himself in Weslaco Wal-Mart
December 31, 2008 - 2:30 PM
Jared Janes and Ana Ley
The Monitor

View a slideshow of photos from last night's chase from Harlingen to Weslaco

WESLACO - The man who kidnapped his girlfriend Tuesday in McAllen shot her in a Harlingen H.E.B. around 7 p.m. Wednesday, then drove a stolen car into a Weslaco Wal-Mart and killed himself.

After the 7 p.m. shooting in Harlingen, the man carjacked a black Cadillac SUV from the H.E.B parking lot.

The vehicle was equipped with OnStar, and police followed the SUV from Harlingen to Weslaco as it traveled along Expressway 83.

"We were very much concerned this would end up the way it has," said McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez at a press conference at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. "Everyone did everything they could for this community."

Sonia and Vidal Loya, of Donna, were in the Wal-Mart when the SUV came crashing through the front of the store. They said they were in the jewelry department when they heard what sounded like gunshots.

They looked and saw the numbers over the checkout lanes slowly topple over, then Vidal said he looked toward the Customer Service Department and saw a truck plowing through the store.

Sonia said a Wal-Mart employee was instrumental in making sure people were safe by calmly grabbing them and moving them out of danger.

"I don't know who she was, but she helped everyone," Sonia said.

The couple ducked and moved toward the store's craft section.

"It was ugly, real ugly," Vidal said.

The two-day crime spree began Tuesday afternoon when 28-year-old Moises Gonzalez, of San Antonio, abducted a former girlfriend by forcing 23-year-old Rio Grande City resident Maura Marroquin off the road near the busy intersection of Pecan Boulevard and Bentsen Road in McAllen.

He later led police on a chase from Brownsville across the Valley, stealing two more vehicles during before police lost track of him in a stolen Volkswagen Passat.

On Wednesday, a gun-wielding Gonzalez - with his kidnapped victim still in tow - rang the doorbell of a home on Rogers Road in Edinburg and forced the person who came to the door to give him the keys to a Toyota Sequoia, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

The person recognized Marroquin from news reports of the woman's kidnapping and told officers Gonzalez pushed and bullied the woman, who was crying and visibly distraught.

The Passat was abandoned near the scene of Wednesday's auto theft. The victim of that crime picked Gonzalez out of a photo lineup.

On Wednesday, just an hour after Gonzalez allegedly stole the Sequoia, the suspect was spotted at the parking lot of the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in Mercedes, according to authorities.

Law enforcement authorities had worried the night would not end well.

"He has had no sleep. ... It's bound to come to a head (soon)," Rodriguez said in the hours before the incident's tragic conclusion.

"We're concerned that the nature of (Wednesday) evening will cause him to be on a crime high," Rodriguez said at the time. "The bottom line is we're becoming concerned. ... This is a very rare type of violence."

Rodriguez said Gonzalez was charged with burglary as recently as 20 days ago in Starr County. He is a registered gun carrier, "which indicates that he is proficient with a weapon," the chief added.

Rodriguez said Gonzalez was charged with burglary as recently as 20 days ago in Starr County. He is a registered gun carrier, "which indicates that he is proficient with a weapon," the chief added.

pedalman wrote:He is a registered gun carrier, "which indicates that he is proficient with a weapon," the chief added.

KC5AV wrote: It seems to me that this is an indication that the perp was known to be armed.

BTin wrote:If this unfortunate story did involve a CHL holder, then it sounds like he may have committed half of the "CHL crimes" that make the Texas statistics for the year! Nothing to be proud of for him, but more a statement of how well behaved CHL holders really are!