Jeremy Benavidez, 23, a Black male, was shot in the early hours of June 21, 2025, at a residence on the 400 block of Curtis Street in Dilley, Texas. Responding officers found him gravely wounded from a gunshot to the abdomen; he was rushed to Frio Regional Hospital in Pearsall, where he died despite lifesaving efforts. In the aftermath, authorities publicly identified him and confirmed the timeline of the attack that jolted the small South Texas community.
As investigators pieced together what happened, deputies relayed that Benavidez, before losing consciousness, gave a dying declaration naming 49-year-old Orlando “Nando” Rosendo Rodriguez as the shooter. Family members told reporters the men were cousins, a detail that deepened the sorrow and shock surrounding the case. The manhunt that followed focused on Rodriguez, whom authorities described in alerts and news briefings while distributing his photo and urging the public to call with tips.
Less than two days after the killing, an anonymous tip led officers to a motel off Highway 85 in Dilley. Working together, Dilley police and Frio County sheriff’s deputies moved in and arrested Rodriguez without incident. He was booked into the county jail and charged—authorities described the charge as murder, with some reports specifying felony murder—marking a swift shift from urgency to custody as the investigation continued.
Public records and memorial listings fixed the essential facts in place: Benavidez’s name, age, and the date and city of his death. Community tributes accumulated online as the case moved from the frantic search phase into the slower churn of court proceedings, the profile of a young life cut short set against the stark entries of an arrest log and incident archives.
