Robert Wise, a 55-year-old White/Caucasian man from Mission, Texas, was fatally shot on the night of July 10, 2023, outside McAllen Masonic Lodge No. 1110 in downtown McAllen. Wise had spent most of his life in Mission and was known as a longtime truck driver, instructor and owner of Wise CDL. He was also active in Freemasonry and had just participated in an installation ceremony at the lodge at 118 N. 11th Street.
According to later trial reporting, Wise had been installed as a junior deacon that evening and was preparing to leave the lodge when he was attacked.
At approximately 9:46 p.m., McAllen police received a disturbance call from the 100 block of North 11th Street. Callers reported hearing a loud popping sound followed by someone moaning in pain and said that a person had been shot and was lying on the ground. Responding officers found Wise on the ground bleeding from gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel were summoned, and an ambulance transported him from the scene at about 9:55 p.m. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Evidence and testimony later presented in court indicated that Wise had been shot multiple times in the face as he was getting into his vehicle outside the lodge.
Investigators quickly focused on Julio Diaz of Alamo. On July 11, McAllen police publicly announced that a municipal judge had issued an arrest warrant charging Diaz with first-degree felony murder. Police initially sought the public's help finding him, describing him at the time as approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds. Diaz was taken into custody on July 11, the day after the shooting. Reporting on the subsequent trial indicated that one of Diaz's acquaintances helped investigators identify him by providing screenshots of messages after the killing.
The investigation eventually produced extensive digital and physical evidence that prosecutors said connected Diaz directly to the shooting. Surveillance footage presented at trial showed a man circling the Masonic lodge before approaching Wise as Wise was getting into his truck. Investigators said Diaz arrived in a black Chevrolet Blazer. Authorities also recovered electronic evidence from Diaz's phone and other devices. Prosecutors said an Instagram account connected to Diaz posted footage of the shooting itself, and investigators found additional recordings and material concerning his hostility toward Freemasons.
The Wise killing was ultimately linked by investigators to a broader pattern of attacks against Masonic organizations in the Rio Grande Valley. Evidence developed during the case tied Diaz to an attempted or intentionally set fire at the McAllen Masonic lodge in September 2022 and to a February 20, 2023 fire at the Llano Grande Masonic Lodge in Weslaco. Investigators examining the Weslaco fire found evidence consistent with gasoline being used as an accelerant, while testimony at trial described items recovered from the scene that included a gasoline-container cap, a burned plastic bottle and a glove. Fire investigators concluded the blaze had been deliberately set. Authorities also said recordings associated with Diaz documented activity surrounding one of the fires.
Prosecutors argued that the attacks were driven by Diaz's intense fixation on Freemasons and conspiracy theories surrounding them. During his later prosecution, jurors heard a recording made while Diaz was being transported by police in which he claimed Freemasons were responsible for problems in his life and were watching or spiritually attacking him. Investigators also recovered writings and digital material referring to Freemasons, the Illuminati and so-called reptilian beings. In a recorded jail conversation and other evidence introduced at trial, Diaz described his beliefs about Freemasons and acknowledged posting his activities against them online. The prosecution used that material to argue that the killing was not a spontaneous confrontation but was connected to a longstanding hostility toward the Masonic fraternity.
Wise's wife, Josefina Sanchez-Wise, testified during the eventual trial about the final moments before the shooting. She recalled that her husband kissed her goodbye and told her he expected to be home shortly. Instead, she later received an urgent call from another lodge member telling her that something tragic had happened. She went to the hospital, where she was informed that Wise had died. Other Masonic lodge members described learning during the installation gathering that Wise had been shot outside. One member testified that he went outside and found Wise lying facedown near a large amount of blood.
The criminal case expanded after Diaz's arrest. In September 2023, a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted him on murder and arson allegations connected to the killing and attacks on Masonic property. Additional investigation continued for years, and by 2026 prosecutors had formally incorporated allegations involving both the McAllen and Weslaco lodge fires into the case. Diaz remained jailed while the prosecution proceeded, with his bonds totaling approximately $1 million. The trial was postponed multiple times, including delays sought by the defense to examine a large volume of evidence and information relating to Diaz's mental condition and competency.
When the case finally went to trial in Hidalgo County in August 2026, prosecutors called more than two dozen witnesses and relied heavily on surveillance recordings, cellphone evidence, social-media material, fire-investigation evidence and recordings attributed to Diaz. The defense sought to place Diaz's mental state at the center of the case, arguing that he suffered from delusional beliefs and believed he was confronting a non-human threat rather than ordinary people. His attorney presented evidence of writings concerning Freemasons and the mythological Anunnaki and argued that mental-health evidence was relevant to understanding Diaz's actions. Diaz had nevertheless been found competent to proceed with the criminal case.
After the prosecution and defense completed their presentations, the Hidalgo County jury deliberated for roughly 30 minutes before finding Julio Diaz guilty of murder and two arson counts in August 2026. The verdict established Diaz as the person criminally responsible for Wise's killing and for the two Masonic lodge fires charged in the case. No second shooter or additional suspect has been publicly identified in connection with Wise's death.
Diaz elected to have the judge, rather than the jury, determine his punishment. As of the latest available reporting, his sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 21, 2026. He faces a potential prison sentence ranging from five to 99 years on the murder conviction, with punishment also to be determined for the associated arson convictions. Thus, what began on July 10, 2023 as a late-night shooting outside a Masonic meeting developed into a three-year prosecution built around surveillance footage, social-media evidence, earlier attacks on Masonic lodges and Diaz's documented fixation on Freemasonry, ending in his conviction for Wise's murder and the related arsons.
