Angel Perez
By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. At least that’s according to Pat Longoria when describing the circumstances surrounding the death of her nephew, 19-year-old Angel Perez of San Benito.
“He was not a troublemaker, he was not in any gangs that we know of, he was never in juvenile (detention), none of that stuff,” Longoria said Monday outside Perez’s San Benito home on the 600 block of Doherty, just two blocks from where he was suspected to have been stabbed by one or more assailants.
Sometime after 12:30 a.m. on Monday, officers with the San Benito Police Department found Perez near the intersection of Winchell and Rockefeller. Det. Rogelio Banda, Jr. of the SBPD stated in a news release that Perez was bleeding profusely from wounds caused by “a sharp object.” Perez was then transferred to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen but succumbed to his injuries shortly after his arrival.
As of presstime Tuesday, police said they were investigating the death as a homicide and were searching for a person of interest in the case, 22-year-old Esteban Rodriguez.
Regarding the incident that claimed Perez’s life, Longoria said she believes her nephew was running from his attackers and almost made it home before slowing down, apparently due to a tube surgically implanted in his chest that she said may have limited his physical activity. The implant, according to Longoria, was part of treatment Perez was receiving during a recent bout with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“He was a cancer survivor,” Longoria said about Perez. “He had it for about a year and was going through chemo. He just got over it a couple of months ago.”
Also, San Benito CISD officials confirmed Monday that Perez was a recent graduate who had previously been enrolled at Gateway to Graduation Academy.
In a statement, Superintendent of Schools Antonio G. Limón said, “Losing a loved one, especially when the death is unexpected, is extremely difficult. The fact that this comes during the Thanksgiving holidays makes it that much more difficult. We would like to extend our most deepest and sincere condolences to his entire family during this time. We hope that the family unites for comfort and peace during this trying period.”
In addition, Longoria said Perez talked about going to college in hopes of pursuing a career in the automotive industry.
“He was a good kid,” Longoria said. “He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
To help the family incur the cost of funeral expenses, an account has been opened at First Community Bank under the name Angel Perez. The account number is 8177995; the routing number is 114908289.
Read this story in the Nov. 21 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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