LT. Milton Resendez
Officer: San Benito Police Department, Lieutenant Milton Resendez
Date: 10/17/2023 Location: San Benito, TX FACTORS (1,2,8,15,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Rogelio Martinez; Rodrigo Axel Espinoza Valdez
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Valdez is “believed to have ties with individuals involved in drug smuggling” and Martinez was an illegal immigrant associated with the Mexican drug cartels. / Yes, the subjects fled from police and shot at them.
Mental Illness: None stated.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Latino/Male/18; Latino/Male/23
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 4:30 p.m. on October 17, 2023, a Cameron County park ranger conducted a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle operated by Rogelio Martinez and occupied by Rodrigo Espinoza Valdez along with two women and two children. During the traffic stop, Martinez fought with the officer and then jumped into the truck as Valdez sped off. The men dropped the women and children off and would be pursued by law enforcement officers in Port Isabel where they shot at and disabled a county constable’s vehicle and then later around 10:30 p.m. by state troopers in Brownsville. When the pursuit entered San Benito, LT. Milton Resendez observed the vehicle driving toward him.
Actions taken by subject toward police: As Valdez drove the vehicle away from the pursuing officers and toward LT. Resendez, the passenger Martinez fired several rifle shots at the LT., striking his patrol vehicle twice. One of those bullets went through the driver’s side door and fatally struck LT. Resendez in the abdomen below his body armor.
Reactions by the police: Officers continued pursuing the perpetrators, conducting a pit maneuver, and intentionally disabling their vehicle. When the perpetrators attempted to flee on foot the officers caught them and placed them under arrest.
How murdered? LT. Resendez was shot while assisting with a vehicle pursuit.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? LT. Resendez bravely performed his duty and assisted with a vehicle pursuit involving known armed subjects who had fired at law enforcement officers.
Would the officer have been justified in using deadly force before being murdered? LT Resendez was shot from a moving vehicle that was driving at him, he never had a chance to use deadly force.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Both perpetrators were caught soon after the shooting, arrested and have been charged with capital murder of a peace officer, aggravated assault against a public servant, and evading arrest.
Miscellaneous: Valdez is a Mexican national who “was in the country illegally, had previously been deported, and had known ties with Mexico’s Gulf Cartel.”
