Authorities have arrested a third suspect in the death of a prominent Houston physician who was shot several times as he arrived at his sprawling ranch with his family.
Misael Santollo, 18, was arrested Tuesday night at a Houston apartment, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said. Santollo is the cousin of two brothers — 23-year-old Cristobal and 18-year-old Moises Galvan — who were arrested last week in the death of Dr. Jorge Mario Gonzalez. Authorities did not know whether the three men had attorneys.
A ranch hand who was injured in the shootout between the gunmen and Gonzalez is Santollo's cousin and the brother of the Galvans, said Sgt. Paul Faircloth of the Austin County Sheriff's Department.
The ranch hand was not linked to the crime and Faircloth said Wednesday he was cooperating with the investigation. Faircloth said officials had no information on a motive in the shootings that rocked the bedroom community 60 miles northwest of Houston.
Authorities said the gunmen were already at the 30-acre ranch on Aug. 22 when Gonzalez, his pregnant wife and their 21-month-old son arrived. The doctor's wife, Charleen, called 911 to report a burglary as she hid from the masked intruders with the couple's son, Mario. Neither she nor the child were injured, but Gonzalez, 56, died at the scene.
As Bellville police arrived at the ranch, they saw two vehicles speeding out of the gated property. One suspect fired at police, but missed.
Gonzalez, a scion of a well-to-do Guatemalan family, immigrated to Texas in the 1970s. He attended medical school there, then rose to critical-care chief at The Methodist Hospital three years ago and had a thriving private practice. He lived in Houston during the week.