Jury deadlocks in murder case involving San Antonio man whose remains were grilled

Gabriel Moreno, accused with two others of killing Jose Luis Menchaca, gives a “heart” sign Friday in the 379th state District Court after a mistrial was declared by Judge Ron Rangel. Menchaca was dismembered and his remains were grilled on a barbecue pit for what witnesses said was retaliation for a bad drug deal. less Gabriel Moreno, accused with two others of killing Jose Luis Menchaca, gives a “heart” sign Friday in the 379th state District Court after a mistrial was declared by Judge Ron Rangel. Menchaca was ... more Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Jury deadlocks in murder case involving San Antonio man whose remains were grilled 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

The judge declared a mistrial late Friday in a 2014 murder case — where the victim was beaten with baseball bats, suffocated and dismembered, and his limbs burned on a barbecue pit — after the jury said they were still deadlocked after four days of deliberation.

Gabriel Moreno had been on trial since Feb. 23 in the death of Jose Luis Menchaca, 35.

Authorities found parts of Menchaca’s body in trash bags in the detached garage at a home in the 400 block of Hillwood Drive on the North Side. Candie Dominguez, 38, and her boyfriend, Daniel Moreno Lopez, 31, who lived at the residence, also are charged in the Sept. 30, 2014, slaying. They are awaiting trial.

Moreno’s jury heard closing arguments Tuesday and began deliberations at 1:39 p.m. in the 379th state District Court. The panel had sent questions to Judge Ron Rangel, who either had the court reporter read back testimony to the panel or instructed the jury that they had seen and heard all the evidence presented in court and to please continue deliberations.

On Friday, shortly after 4 p.m., Rangel sent them a note, asking them if they were close to a unanimous verdict. They replied in writing, “NO!”

Rangel then called in the panel, thanked them and officially declared a mistrial.

This is the second time proceedings regarding the case ended in a mistrial.

Lopez went on trial in March 2017 and Dominguez, testifying for the state, described the killing and dismemberment, stating that they decided to burn the remains to get rid of evidence. Shortly after, she told the court that she recently had been diagnosed with mental illness, which prompted Lopez’s attorney, J. Charles Bunk, to request a mistrial, because he said he was unaware of that diagnosis.

Rangel granted the motion.

Authorities believe Menchaca was killed in retaliation for an altercation days before the killing that stemmed from a drug deal that went bad. Authorities seized methamphetamine from the home on Hillwood Drive.

The jury hearing Moreno’s case sat through more than a week of testimony that described the gruesome details of Menchaca’s death.

A 13-year-old child told the jury that she and other children were told to stay in another room in the house. While there, she said they heard Menchaca’s screams coming from Dominguez’s bedroom. Afterward, she said they heard what sounded like someone being dragged across the floor.

On Wednesday, Dennis Austin looked physically ill and broke down on the witness stand when he was shown the decaying body of Menchaca. He told the panel that when he and his fiancee walked into Dominguez’s bedroom, they saw blood on the walls and furniture. He also told the jury he saw Menchaca on the floor, bound by his hands and feet, duct tape across his mouth, and his face was bleeding.

“There was blood everywhere on him,” Austin said. “It was like a horror movie.”

He also told the jury he helped Moreno move Menchaca, who was still alive, from the bedroom to a detached garage.

Menchaca’s girlfriend, Sylvia Flores, testified Thursday that when they arrived at the house, Lopez and Moreno beat Menchaca with aluminum baseball bats, and they later bound and gagged her and held her captive for several days. She told them the last time she saw Menchaca, he told her he loved her and she heard him begging for his life. She said she never knew what had happened to him until she saw his remains days later on a barbecue grill.

Moreno’s attorney, Albert M. Gutierrez, reminded the panel in his closing argument Tuesday that testimony heard from state’s witnesses was the result of deals made so they would not get prosecuted. He pointed out that Flores was an admitted heroin addict and although an altercation occurred between Menchaca and Lopez days before, she still went with him to the home to get drugs.

Gutierrez also pointed out to the jury that state’s witnesses testified that no fingerprints or DNA at the scene matched up to Moreno.

Prosecutors Josh Somers and Matthew Ludowig argued that Moreno played a part in the “cartel-style killing” and was the guy that Lopez would get to “do his dirty work,” and was just as guilty as Lopez and Dominguez, who are said to have planned the killing.

Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison. Rangel said Moreno will face another trial with a different jury at a later time.