Background: Mason Ray Rodriguez is arrested by law enforcement (Bexar County Sheriff”s Office). Inset: Mason Ray Rodriguez (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office).
A man in Texas shot a romantic rival more than a dozen times – killing him – and then tried to hide the murder weapon, authorities say.
Mason Ray Rodriguez, 21, has been charged with the murder of 29-year-old Enrique Javier Perales, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office announced at a Tuesday press conference. The death occurred on Monday night.
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At about 7 p.m. on Monday, Rodriguez arrived at the residence where Perales was with multiple other people, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. An argument between the two men then reportedly broke out at this home on the 6700 block of Calle Fincias.
“We believe the motive … is the possibility that they shared a romantic partner,” Salazar said on Tuesday. “In other words, this dispute was over a woman that they were both dating, is the indication that we have now.”
At some point, Rodriguez is believed to have brandished a 9 mm Glock and fired “well in excess of a dozen times” at Perales, the sheriff said, based on the victim’s wounds. Rodriguez then reportedly left the residence. It is unclear whether the woman both men reportedly dated was present.
Perales was pronounced dead at the scene.
After departing, the suspect “went and tried to dispose of that weapon by burying it along with a high capacity magazine that he had with it,” Salazar said, stating he believed the weapon held a 30-round magazine.
Not long after, deputies located Rodriguez at a residence near the crime scene, authorities said. He “surrendered” and “began making statements implicating himself in the murder,” Salazar stated, adding that while “some claims” of self-defense were made, “we don’t believe that that’s an indicator.”
The alleged murder weapon was recovered, and Rodriguez was booked into the Bexar County Jail on Tuesday morning. Salazar did not rule out the possibility that other people may be charged in the case.
Bexar County is located in the central-southern part of the Lone Star State.
