Jose Magaña, a 75-year-old Hispanic man, was asleep inside his home in rural Weslaco, Texas, during the early morning of August 19, 2021, when a bullet was fired into the residence and struck him. The shooting happened near Mile 10 North, west of FM 1015, an area outside the Weslaco city limits that falls under the jurisdiction of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were dispatched at approximately 1:56 a.m.
after receiving a report that someone had suffered a gunshot wound.
Magaña had been resting in bed when the gunfire entered the home. He was critically wounded and did not survive. What had begun as a quiet night inside his residence abruptly became a homicide investigation, leaving his wife, Elva Magaña, and their family confronting a sudden and seemingly senseless loss. Magaña, who was born on October 8, 1945, left behind his wife, several sons and daughters, 17 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Hidalgo County sheriff’s investigators began examining the area around the home and searching for evidence that could explain how a person sleeping inside had been struck. The investigation indicated that the shot had been fired from outside the property as a vehicle traveled near the residence. Surveillance evidence reportedly helped investigators identify a dark-colored pickup truck that had been in the vicinity when the shooting occurred.
The investigation soon focused on Weslaco resident Joe Armendaris. Authorities interviewed Armendaris, obtained a statement from him and connected him to the gunfire near Magaña’s home. The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office announced his arrest shortly after the killing. Armendaris was initially identified as being 35 at the time of his arrest and was charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony. A judge set his bond at $800,000.
The manslaughter charge reflected the prosecution’s position that Armendaris caused Magaña’s death through reckless gunfire rather than through a deliberate plan to target and kill him. There was no indication that Magaña had provoked the shooting or that he had been involved in any confrontation with Armendaris. He had simply been inside his home and asleep when a bullet penetrated the residence.
The criminal case continued in Hidalgo County for nearly two years. On June 29, 2023, Armendaris appeared in court and pleaded guilty to manslaughter for causing Magaña’s death. He was convicted as part of a plea agreement rather than following a jury trial. The court sentenced him to two years in prison.
Armendaris was the only publicly identified suspect, and the guilty plea brought the prosecution to a close. The case did not remain an unsolved shooting: investigators made an arrest, prosecutors secured a manslaughter conviction and the person held responsible received a prison sentence. Nevertheless, the punishment was limited to two years, a comparatively brief sentence for an act of reckless gunfire that ended Magaña’s life while he slept in the safety of his own home.
