El Paso woman with ties to Mexico drug cartel gets life in gang-related murder

A dead man in women's underwear found dumped off the side of Transmountain Road was killed after allegedly ripping off gang members in a gun deal in El Paso's Lower Valley, court documents state.

A jury sentenced Alexus Chantel Dominguez, 30, to life in prison after convicting her of playing a leading role in the killing of Arnulfo Apodaca Gonzalez in 2019. The El Paso woman was sentenced March 28 by the same jury that convicted her the same day of engaging in organized criminal activity — capital murder.

Dominguez is part of the Brown Dogs Sureño street gang with ties to La Linea drug cartel, said El Paso Assistant District Attorney Preston Munson, who with Jakob Reynolds were the lead prosecutors in the case.

Gonzalez's body was found wrapped in a carpet on the side of the mountain wearing women's underwear and his hands tied with duct tape, court documents state. The killing was committed after Gonzalez allegedly stole money from a gun deal with Dominguez and the Brown Dogs, a criminal complaint affidavit states.

El Paso Police Department officials did not respond to a request for Dominguez's jail booking photo.

Dominguez's trial took place in the 34th District Court with Judge William Moody presiding over the case. Dominguez has been jailed at the El Paso County Jail since her arrest on Dec. 24, 2020.

There are three other alleged members of the Brown Dogs Sureño gang charged in the killing of Gonzalez. The other defendants are Adrian Corral, Luis Ochoa and Eddie Chavarria, Munson said. The three men are expected to plead guilty now that Dominguez's case has reached a resolution, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks said.

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Dominguez also facies an aggravated kidnapping charge in an unrelated abduction of a man, Ignacio Zaragoza Jr., over a drug deal. Zaragoza was able to escape Dominguez and her colleagues by jumping out of a vehicle as they drove to Transmountain Road, the affidavit states. The case is pending in state district court.

"We're evaluating that (case) to decide if we want to go forward, if we're going to dismiss it or let her plea and let her go to prison," Hicks said.

Johnathan De La Garza, Corral and Chavarria also are charged in the aggravated kidnapping case, court records show.

The details of Zaragoza's kidnapping were similar to Gonzalez's killing and helped lead police to the suspects in Gonzalez's death, court documents state.

Gonzalez severely beaten, dressed in women's underwear

El Paso police officers responded Sept. 9, 2019, to a report of a body found on the side of the mountain on Transmountain Road. A sightseer who found the body told police they were taking scenic photos of the mountain when they smelled a foul odor, a complaint affidavit states.

The sightseer believed the odor was from a dead animal but saw a rolled-up carpet with what appeared to be a human body sticking out.

The officers found the rolled-up carpet tied with a rope containing Gonzalez's body. The rug with Gonzalez's body still in it was taken to the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office for further investigation.

Gonzalez's body was in an "advanced state of decomposition," the affidavit states. Gonzalez was found wearing women's underwear with his hands tied with metallic duct tape and a plastic bag taped over his head.

An autopsy revealed Gonzalez had been severely assaulted prior to being dumped on the side of the mountain, the affidavit states. Fingerprints were used to identify the body.

Police were investigating Gonzalez's killing when they received critical information as they responded to a report of Zaragoza escaping from his kidnappers on Dec. 13, 2020.

Zaragoza's kidnapping shared several similarities to Gonzalez's case. The similarities included Zaragoza made to wear women's clothing, being severely beaten and threatened to be taken to Transmountain, the affidavit states.

Kidnapping escape leads to arrest of Transmountain murder suspects

On Dec. 13, 2020, El Paso police responding to a 911 call near the Loop 375 ramp found Zaragoza, who was "on the roadway and appeared to be in distress," a complaint affidavit in the aggravated kidnapping case states.

Zaragoza told police he was kidnapped and jumped out of a black SUV to escape. Witnesses at the scene pulled over to render aid to Zaragoza.

Zaragoza had bruising on the right back side of his neck, and a possible skull fracture, the affidavit states. He also had injuries to his wrist and mouth.

Officers spoke to Zaragoza a few days later when he felt better from his injuries. He told police he and a man only identified as Debruhl in court documents had set up a drug deal for methamphetamine.

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Johnathan De La Garza arrived at Zaragoza's home about 3 a.m. Zaragoza let him into the house because he knew he was there for the drug deal, the affidavit states.

De La Garza allegedly demanded money from Zaragoza. De La Garza received a phone call from Dominguez telling him to bring Zaragoza to De La Garza's house, the affidavit states.

Zaragoza initially told De La Garza he would not leave with him. However, he eventually left because he was scared they would hurt his family, Zaragoza told police.

Zaragoza, De La Garza, and several others drove to De La Garza's house in the black SUV.

The gang claimed Zaragoza was late in delivering the drugs, so Zaragoza gave them the drugs, the affidavit states. He told the gang he wanted to go home, but Dominguez told him, "no, you are coming with us," the affidavit states.

He was taken to another house where the gang began assaulting Zaragoza. Dominguez allegedly gave orders as the gang kicked and punched Zaragoza.

Zaragoza's mom called him and he was allowed to talk to her as a gun was held to his head, the affidavit states.

The kidnappers forced Zaragoza to get naked and put on "women's 'daisy duke shorts' underwear and a women's blouse," which belonged to Dominguez, the affidavit states. They continued to assault and torture him.

Drug cartels and gangs in Juárez have been known to publicly dump the bodies of murdered rivals left dressed in women's lingerie as a form of humiliation.

The gang tied Zaragoza's wrists with pantyhose and put a sock in his mouth, the affidavit states. They allegedly took Zaragoza's house key, and two men went to the house to look for drugs.

Dominguez allegedly brought out an electric power tool and told Zaragoza to decide which hand he wanted broken or cut off, the affidavit states. Dominguez was mad because one of the gangsters broke his hand, beating up Zaragoza.

"An eye for an eye," she allegedly told him.

The kidnappers threw Zaragoza's clothes into a fire pit. They made Zaragoza put on pants and a sweatshirt. They took him in an SUV and said "we have to go to Transmountain Road," the affidavit states.

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Zaragoza told police he feared for his life because he knew they "get rid of people by dumping them on Transmountain," the affidavit states. He began screaming hoping someone in another vehicle would hear him.

Zaragoza eventually jumped out of the moving SUV. The gangsters fled the scene as witnesses stopped to help Zaragoza.

Police arrested Dominguez, De La Garza and other men, not named in the court documents, on suspicion of aggravated kidnapping.

Dominguez and De La Garza are facing aggravated kidnapping charges in connection with Zaragoza's abduction. Their cases remain pending in district court.

The names of the other suspects involved have not been released.

Suspects in Zaragoza kidnapping questioned about Gonzalez's death

Corral was interviewed by police. He told officers he had met with Gonzalez, who was "bragging" about being able to buy guns.

Dominguez gave Gonzalez $200 to buy the gang guns. However, Gonzalez never returned with the guns or the money, the affidavit states.

The gang began looking for Gonzalez and found him near Roseway Drive and Pendale Road in El Paso's Lower Valley. Gonzalez was able to run away from the kidnappers.

Several days later, a gang member spotted Gonzalez mowing the lawn of a house. The gang went to a home in the 100 block of West Point Drive and kidnapped him.

The gang ordered Gonzalez to remove his clothes so they could search him for the money. They wrestled him to the ground.

One gang member claimed to police they noticed Gonzalez was wearing women's underwear, the affidavit states. The gangsters began to "mock, laugh and humiliate" Gonzalez, the affidavit states.

Gonzalez became "verbally defiant," which made Dominguez angry, the affidavit states. She began assaulting Gonzalez. Gonzalez allegedly laughed as she beat him.

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They put duct tape over his mouth to prevent him from laughing. One of the gangsters, only identified as Hernandez in court documents, started hitting Gonzalez with a brick in the face and head. All the gang members then began beating Gonzalez, the affidavit states.

Corral told police that Gonzalez lost consciousness and became unresponsive. The gang wrapped Gonzalez in a carpet, drove to Transmountain and dumped his body in a ravine on the side of the mountain, the affidavit states.

Corral and the gang found out that Gonzalez's body had been discovered two weeks later because of news coverage of the incident, the affidavit states.

When Dominguez was questioned by investigators, she collaborated what Corral had previously told police. She added Gonzalez had "disrespected her," which led to her beating him, the affidavit states.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT. Times reporter Daniel Borunda contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas woman with ties to cartel gets life in gang abduction murder