Assault charge upgraded to manslaughter

By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com

San Benito Police have confirmed the death of a 48-year-old victim of a brutal physical assault which occurred on March 6 of this year.

According to the City of San Benito Public Relations Director David Favila, the victim, identified as Juan Roel Bocanegra of San Benito, was pronounced deceased on Mar. 20, 2023 after being removed from life support.

A source close to Bocanegra, who wished to remain anonymous, said family and friends were asked to convene at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen to say their farewells to Bocanegra on the morning of March 20, but that family had decided it would be best to take him off of life support earlier after a negative long-term prognosis for any change in Bocanegra’s condition was given to them by doctors.

The suspect of the assault, Bocanegra’s 23-year-old nephew, Christopher Espinoza, was originally charged with Aggravated Assault. That charge has since been upgraded to Manslaughter, a second-degree felony, as a result of the original assault having resulted in Bocanegra’s death, Favila stated in an email to the NEWS Wednesday morning.

As previously reported in the March 10 edition of the NEWS, on March 6, 2023, at approximately 3:51 p.m., San Benito Police Officers were dispatched to the 100 Block of Lolita Street in San Benito in reference to a past assault.

Upon their arrival, an officer discovered a large pool of blood in the middle of the roadway. The officer made contact with witnesses at the scene who informed him that two of their family members got into a physical altercation.

According to a police report, they stated that the suspect, Espinoza, allegedly struck his uncle and knocked him unconscious. The victim, Bocanegra, had already been transported to the hospital by EMS for medical treatment prior to officer’s arrival.

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