Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘I Am a Killer: A Mother’s Choice’ provides a detailed account of the gruesome beating death of Jose Menchaca and the investigation that followed. When his remains were found in the garage and barbecue grill of his cousin, Candie Dominguez, in October 2014, the entire community was shaken to its core. As the investigation progressed, the police found out that there were three possible perpetrators — Candie Dominguez, Daniel Lopez, and Gabriel Moreno. However, the latter maintained his innocence from the get-go and claimed that he was only a witness to the crime.
Gabriel Moreno Was Alleged to be Involved in the Murder of Jose Menchaca
Apart from being Daniel Lopez’s cousin, Gabriel Moreno was also affiliated with the Texas Mexican Mafia. So, in September 2014, when Daniel and his girlfriend, Candie Dominguez, planned to take revenge on the latter’s cousin, Jose Menchaca, who had stabbed Daniel during a drug deal gone wrong. On September 30, Candie lured her cousin and his girlfriend, Sylvia, into her San Antonio, Texas, residence, where Daniel and Gabriel awaited. After locking Sylvia in a separate room, the two men beat Jose to death with baseball bats, as per Candie’s claims.
However, ever since he got linked to the murder case, Gabriel claimed he was innocent and said that he was just present in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before the murder allegations, he had already served time for a kidnapping charge. At the time of the murder, he was dating Sabrina Cavazos, who testified against him and claimed that she saw her boyfriend join Daniel in the beating death of Candie’s cousin on the fateful night. With plenty of evidence and testimonies against him, Gabriel was kept in custody until his trial.
Gabriel Moreno Was Found Not Guilty of Murder in His Second Trial
In March 2018, Gabriel Moreno stood trial for being involved in the murder of Jose Menchaca. However, it resulted in a hung jury as the jury was deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of convicting him. In late 2018, his retrial commenced, and the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence against the defendant. They even called various witnesses to the stand who testified against him. On the other hand, the defense made better arguments in support of Gabriel and attempted to sway the jury in their favor. On December 12, 2018, after deliberating for six hours, the jury found him not guilty of murder, and thus, he was acquitted. Although it came as a shock to many in the courtroom, some were relieved about the not-guilty verdict, including one of Gabriel’s friend, Johnny Torres.
He told MySanAntonio, “It’s awesome, awesome. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I really thought he was gone (convicted). I think the jury understood that you can be very upset and near something, but not be the criminal.” However, while his trial was ongoing, the authorities discovered a sharp weapon called a shank made by prisoners in his prison cell, after which he was charged with having a weapon in jail. According to reports, on May 3, 2018, he was provided with a cell phone by Maricela Leija, his fiancee at the time, and Thomas Lucero, as the trio committed criminal activity, including taking prohibited items and substances into the jail cell. Fortunately for him, Marciella was able to post the $40,000 bail and have him released.
Gabriel Moreno is Currently Incarcerated at a Texas Prison For an Unrelated Crime
Just a few months after his acquittal from Jose Menchaca’s murder case, Gabriel had another run-in with the law after he allegedly assaulted Marciella and threatened her at gunpoint. On June 13, 2019, he was arrested for the same after she reported the incident to the police. It reportedly took the San Antonio Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit, SWAT, Repeat Offenders Program, Special Victims Unit, and a helicopter to capture him. Facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft of a firearm, and felon in possession of a firearm, Gabriel was held on a $1 million bond.
On October 21, 2019, his bond reduction hearing took place, during which Marciella was asked about the assault in detail. When asked about what exactly Gabriel said to her during the incident, she responded, “Something to the effect that, ‘I should just kill you,’ or, ‘I should shoot you,’ something like that.” By the end of the hearing, his bond was reduced from $1 million to $440,000. As of today, he is serving a 20-year sentence for the possession of a deadly weapon in a penal institution at the John M. Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas, with his projected release date scheduled for December 2038.
Read More: Candie Dominguez: Where is the Killer Now?
