Lou Anthony Gutierrez, a 26-year-old male of Hispanic ethnicity, was tragically found dead on March 4, 2015, in Mathis, Texas. Gutierrez was discovered by a property owner on Private Road 1080 south of Mathis, having suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into his death revealed that he was killed in an isolated location, and the circumstances pointed to a premeditated act.
The San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Texas Rangers, launched a thorough investigation into Gutierrez's death. This led to the arrest of two suspects: 24-year-old Alexis Arguijo of Mathis and 23-year-old Robert Ray Perez of Robstown. The arrests were made over a year after Gutierrez's death, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service of Corpus Christi. Both Arguijo and Perez were charged with murder and held in separate county jails with bail set at $500,000 each.
The case against the suspects was built on evidence suggesting that Arguijo, a member of the Texas Chicano Brotherhood street gang, had a negative history with Gutierrez. It was alleged that Arguijo, with the help of Perez, who was also a member of the TCB, planned and executed the murder. The State presented evidence that Arguijo had been in a relationship with Gutierrez's cousin and that there were ongoing disputes between Gutierrez and Arguijo. The prosecution argued that Arguijo sought to get Gutierrez high on synthetic marijuana, which Arguijo sold, to make him easier to kill.
In the trial, Robert Ray Perez was convicted of murder and sentenced to thirty years in prison, along with a $10,000 fine. Perez appealed the conviction, arguing insufficient evidence, but the court affirmed the conviction with a modification to correct a clerical error.
The tragic death of Lou Anthony Gutierrez and the subsequent legal proceedings highlight the complexities and challenges of investigating and prosecuting gang-related homicides. The case underscores the importance of thorough investigations and the collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies in bringing perpetrators to justice.
