SAN ANTONIO – A 26-year-old San Antonio man and a 44-year-old Devine woman are facing federal firearms charges in connection with a June 2019 murder-suicide in Devine, federal officials said.
A four-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed Friday alleges that Patrick Rene Vega and Juanita Cisneros Garcia conspired to illegally buy a .22 caliber pistol for Garcia’s former husband, Jorge Jaramillo, a news release said.
Jaramillo at the time was a convicted felon and subject to a protective order following a family violence incident and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The protective order, which was issued in May 2019 after Jaramillo stabbed his intimate partner, Jessica Sanchez, prohibited him from having contact with Sanchez, officials said.
According to the indictment, Jaramillo, with Garcia’s help, shot and killed Sanchez on June 30, 2019, using the firearm illegally acquired by Vega.
After killing Sanchez, Jaramillo turned the firearm on himself and committed suicide.
The bodies of Sanchez and Jamarillo were found July 10, 2019 in a field outside Devine.
Vega and Garcia are charged with one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm by a prohibited person under a family violence protective order, the indictment said. Garcia is also charged with two substantive counts of aiding and abetting possession of a firearm by a prohibited person—an individual under a family violence protective order; and, a convicted felon. The indictment also charges Vega with one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
If the suspects are found guilty on the the conspiracy charge, they could face up to five years in federal prison. Each of the remaining charges call for up to 10 years in federal prison upon conviction.
The case is being investigated as Project Guardian, an initiative started in November 2019 aimed to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws across the country. There are about 350 pending firearms cases in the Western District of Texas.