An El Paso murder suspect who allegedly brutally beat and set a man on fire was arrested after leaving his cell phone at the homicide scene.
Heriberto Chavez, 41, repeatedly assaulted the victim by punching him with closed fists, kicking him and stomping on the victim’s head, a criminal complaint affidavit states.
After the brutal beating, Chavez allegedly set the man ablaze before fleeing the scene. The victim’s identification is still pending, a police news release states.
The affidavit does not provide a motive for the fatal beating. Officers arrested Chavez on suspicion of murder. No attorney is named in court documents for Chavez.
Body found next to dumpster fire near Downtown El Paso
El Paso Fire Department firefighters responded to a dumpster fire before 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, behind the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief, a charity food distribution center, at 915 N. Florence St., near Montana Avenue.
The firefighters extinguished the blaze and found a body near the dumpster. They reported the body to the El Paso Police Department.
The department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit investigators arrived at the scene and began gathering surveillance footage from nearby buildings.
The videos show the victim lying on the ground next to the dumpsters, while Chavez is seen using his cell phone while walking near the intersection of Montana Avenue and Campbell Street, the affidavit states.
Surveillance videos show brutal beating
Chavez walked up to the victim and “an interaction between both parties was observed,” an officer wrote in the affidavit.
The suspect is seen placing his cell phone on the side railing at the edge of the dumpster.
Chavez “for unknown reasons” began repeatedly assaulting the victim, the affidavit states. Chavez allegedly punches the victim with closed fists and kicks him.
He gets on top of the victim and stomps on the victim’s head and upper torso for several minutes, the affidavit states. The victim is seen going limp and no longer moving.
Chavez allegedly grabs a piece of cardboard from the dumpster and places it on top of the victim. He uses an unknown item to set the victim on fire, the affidavit states.
As the fire grows in size and intensity, Chavez watches it and places additional items from the dumpster to feed the fire, the affidavit states. Chavez allegedly grabbed onto the dumpster with both hands and kicked the victim multiple times.
He leaves the crime scene on foot, leaving his cell phone behind on the side railing of the dumpster, the affidavit states. No other person is seen at the scene of the crime.
Cellphone leads El Paso police to murder suspect
A video shows the cell phone falling into the dumpster because of water pressure from firefighters extinguishing the fire.
Officers secured the scene and found the cell phone inside the dumpster. The officers obtained a search warrant for the phone and requested assistance from the FBI El Paso’s Computer Analysis Response Team. The FBI agents got the telephone number and historical cell site location data, which showed Chavez at the scene at the time of the killing, the affidavit states.
Murder suspect allegedly admits to kicking victim
Police investigators canvassed the area around the crime scene on Sunday, May 31, where they detained three men on suspicion of having an open alcohol container. Chavez was one of the men.
An investigator asked Chavez for his cell phone number. Chavez replied he had lost his cell phone. The officer asked for the lost phone’s number. Chavez provided the phone number for the phone police found at the crime scene, the affidavit states.
Officers arrested Chavez in connection with the open container violation. He was taken to the police department’s headquarters for questioning.
Investigators noted in the affidavit that Chavez had several injuries, including a small cut to the little finger knuckle area on his right hand, bruising to the top and bottom of the right wrist and a cut to his right shin. Investigators believe the injuries are “consistent with the assault of the victim captured on video,” the affidavit states.
He allegedly told officers that “his feet were injured as a result of him kicking the victim,” an officer wrote in the affidavit. Chavez’s toes were bruised.
Chavez said he was wearing a long-sleeve gray shirt with writing on the back, light green pants and brown boots. The clothing matched what the suspect was seen wearing in the videos. He also said he was carrying a purple lunch bag, the affidavit states. The bag was found at the crime scene.
Chavez was arrested on Sunday, May 31, on suspicion of murder. He was booked into the El Paso County jail the next day. A $1 million bond was set for Chavez, jail records show. He remains jailed as of Tuesday, June 2, jail logs show.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso suspect allegedly beat, set fire to victim; left phone at scene
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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