Arlington man arrested, charged with manslaughter in 2021 shooting of 15-year-old
A suspect has been arrested and charged with manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of a 15-year-old, the Arlington Police Department said in a news release.
Members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force and the Arlington SWAT Team located 19-year-old Jose Pino in Arlington on Thursday and took him into custody without incident, police said.
In the early morning of Dec. 30, 2021, police responded to a gas station in the 700 block of East Division Street after Pino, who was 17 at the time, called 911 to report that his friend Alejandro Montes had been shot.
Pino and Montes left the gas station and drove into Grand Prairie, where an ambulance met them, according to the release.
Montes was taken to a hospital in Dallas, where he later died from his injuries.
Pino initially told investigators that a person he did not know in a black Dodge Charger pulled up to their vehicle and shot at them.
After reviewing street cameras in Arlington, a detective found that claim to be false, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Officers also found that there was no damage from a bullet on or in Pino’s vehicle.
After being questioned about his first account, Pino then told police Montes was handling a gun and, while he was trying to take pictures of the gun, he accidentally shot himself. Pino also said he then took the gun and threw it out a window, according to the affidavit.
Officers recovered the weapon and sent it — along with other items — to forensic testing.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Montes’ death a homicide, concluding he could have not shot himself, police said in the release.
Lab reports found that gunshot residue was present on Pino’s hands but not on Montes’, police said.
The case was subsequently assigned to a new detective in 2023 for a follow-up investigation.
In a re-interview with the new detective, Pino said the gun fired when he tried to take it out of Montes’ hands and Montes was shot in the head, according to the affidavit. He also said that he was scared and dialed 911. Pino told the detective that emergency services could not find them and he decided to drive to another gas station located in Grand Prairie to meet with the ambulance.
“During this transition, Pino intentionally and knowingly tossed the firearm out of the window of the vehicle before police arrived because he was scared and did not want to get in trouble,” police said in the affidavit.
The detective then obtained a warrant for Pino’s arrest. Pino is charged with one count of manslaughter. He is also charged with one count of tampering with evidence in relation to throwing the gun out of the window.
Pino was booked into the Arlington City Jail and was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 7:02 PM.
