On September 7, 2024, at about 12:07 a.m., deputies from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported shooting at a residence in the 100 block of ACR 102 in Palestine, Texas. Officers found 28-year-old Manuel Vallejo Garza with gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel treated Garza at the scene, but he died shortly afterward and was pronounced deceased.

Investigators identified Andres Mendez Becerra as a person of interest and believed he had fled Anderson County. A warrant was issued charging him in connection with Garza’s death. On September 10, 2024, law enforcement — including Anderson County deputies, the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Police Department, and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force — located and arrested Becerra at a residence on Spring View in Dallas; he was booked into the Dallas County Jail awaiting transfer to Anderson County. An inquest by Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 Gary Thomas ordered an autopsy, and the Texas Rangers assisted in processing the crime scene.

If anyone has information about Garza, his movements that night, or the events at the ACR 102 residence, please come forward.