Nov 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 11

AROUND THE COUNTRY
SAN BENITO, TX.
San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez was fatally shot after he joined
an hours long pursuit and the suspects fired at his patrol vehicle.
SAN BENITO, TX (AP) — A South
Texas police officer was fatally
shot after he joined an hours
long pursuit of two men who
fled a traffic stop, authorities
said.
San Benito Lt. Milton Resendez
was fatally shot as his vehicle
crossed paths with the suspects’
vehicle late Tuesday night, police
Chief Mario Perea said at a news
conference Wednesday. Perea
said it wasn’t known how many
rounds were fired at Resendez’s
vehicle but one round struck his
front bumper and another went
through the driver’s side door,
hitting him just below his body
armor in the abdomen. He was
later pronounced dead at a hospital.
“He cared about everyone, he
got along with everyone,” Perea
said.
Cameron County District Attorney
Luis Saenz said the pursuit
began around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
on South Padre Island when a
truck carrying the two men, two
women and two small children
was pulled over for speeding
on the beach. As the driver was
being questioned outside of the
truck, a passenger started the
truck, the driver jumped into the
bed and they sped off, he said.
At one point, the two women
and the children got out of the
vehicle, Saenz said. The women
were detained and questioned.
The two suspects — Rogelio
Martinez Jr., 18, of Brownsville
and Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez,
23, of Mexico — are facing
multiple charges including capital
murder, aggravated assault
with a deadly weapon and evading
arrest, Saenz said. Online jail
records do not list attorneys who
can speak on their behalf.
Saenz said that after the men
were pursued into Brownsville,
located on the Mexico border, an
exchange of gunfire made officers
stand back and lose sight of
the truck around 5 p.m. After the
truck was found disabled, the
suspects were then spotted in a
sport utility vehicle in San Benito
around 10:30 p.m. The confrontation
in San Benito is where
Resendez was shot.
The pursuit then returned to
Brownsville, where the men
were arrested after fleeing from
their sport utility vehicle after
officers disabled it by performing
a PIT maneuver where a vehicle
LT. MILTON RESENDEZ
is intentionally bumped, Saenz
said.
Perea said that Resendez spent
about 30 years working as a
police officer, with most of that
time with the San Benito police.
“It’s hard right now,” Perea
said. “We lost one of our own.
He worked with us for so long
he’s not just a coworker, he’s
part of our family now.”
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a
statement that “hearts across
Texas grieve with the family and
loved ones” of Resendez.
The Texas Rangers are investigating.
30 The BLUES