San Marcos murder suspect arrested in Harris County after being shot at by law enforcement | FOX 7 Austin

San Marcos murder suspect arrested in Harris County after being shot at by law enforcement

A violent suspect has been caught after a murder in San Marcos and a police shooting near Houston.

Juan Yanez is facing a murder charge in San Marcos. He was arrested in Harris County after being shot at by law enforcement.

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Juan Yanez.

It was a joint effort by two law enforcement agencies in different parts of Texas to get Yanez in cuffs.

San Marcos investigation

What we know:

At around 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, a 911 call came in to the San Marcos Police Department.

"The man speaking in Spanish told the 911 dispatcher that he had shot his wife," San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said.

Police showed up to an apartment complex near the animal shelter.

"Once officers found the correct address, the suspect was gone," Chief Standridge said.

Chief Standridge said the backdoor to the apartment was open and inside was a woman, 43-year-old Victoria Valadez, lying on a bed, dead.

Using the number the man called from and talking with family members, law enforcement identified the caller as Juan Manuel Yanez.

"So then it just became a question about, okay, where is the suspect now," Standridge said. "So by interviewing family, we asked, where do you think this person would go? We then learned about a familial relationship that was in Harris County."

Harris County officer-involved shooting

What we know:

Standridge said one of his detectives used to work for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, so they contacted them.

"They had a murder, and they requested that the sheriff's office do a welfare check at a residence," Harris County Sheriff’s Office Captain James Lovett said.

Captain Lovett said at around 7:00 p.m., Yanez was in a neighbor’s yard, saw law enforcement, and started running away. Lovett said they chased after him.

"He turned around, a deputy thought he saw a gun, at that point, he discharged a weapon," Lovett said.

Lovett said Yanez wasn’t hit, he kept running and hid in a backyard.

"We utilized air support and K-9 located the suspect," Lovett said.

At around 8:00 p.m., Yanez was arrested.

What's next:

Yanez is currently being held in the Harris County Jail on a $100,000 bond. 

He is expected to be extradited back to Hays County to stand trial for the murder.

The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis, including information from the San Marcos Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office, and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin and FOX 26 Houston.

Crime and Public SafetySan MarcosTexas