MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – A man has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with a shooting on Highway 90 that left another man dead, according to a news release from Medina County Criminal District Attorney Mark P. Haby.
Pedro Espinoza Jr., 34, of Uvalde, was convicted by a Medina County jury after just 26 minutes of deliberation for the Dec. 11, 2021, murder of Marlon Lindsey, the release said.
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The sentence is the maximum allowed by law. The release said Espinoza must serve 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
Lindsey, 45, was a U.S. Army veteran and father of four from Beaumont, Texas. The release said he moved to San Antonio to work as a conductor for BNSF, a North American railroad company, and was being driven to the Hondo Railyard with coworkers the night he was killed.
As Lindsey and his coworkers traveled west on Highway 90 through Medina County, multiple people had already called 911 to report a driver, later identified as Espinoza, driving on the wrong side of the road, the release said.
A Medina County sheriff’s deputy was responding to the 911 calls about Espinoza, the release said, but seconds before they were able to locate him, Espinoza drove toward the van Lindsey was traveling in, causing the driver to veer off to the shoulder.
As the driver slowed, she heard a loud sound and the driver’s side window shattered. Lindsey, who had just fallen asleep, was shot in the neck, the release said.
Deputies engaged in a pursuit with Espinoza through Castroville that ended when Espinoza’s vehicle stopped just east of the Medina County and Bexar County line, the release said.
Espinoza was taken into custody and admitted to smoking methamphetamine earlier in the night. The release said he “thought rival gang members were after him.”
The weapon that was used to kill Lindsey was later found along Highway 90, the release said, and evidence showed Espinoza threw it out after deputies began the pursuit. He claimed in an interview that he discarded the weapon because he thought it jammed or ran out of ammunition.
Other witnesses testified that they heard a loud sound and found a bullet hole in their car after driving past Espinoza, the release said.
Evidence presented during the trial also showed Espinoza was a member of Tango Orejon, “a violent prison gang based in the San Antonio area,” the release said.
“The paranoid delusions of a life-long drug addict led to countless innocent lives being endangered on a multi-county shooting spree,” said Assistant District Attorney Christian Neumann, in part. “This verdict reflects the Medina County community’s strong stance against senseless violence.”
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