Does Óscar Cabrera deserve the death penalty for a double homicide? (PHOTOS)

• Óscar Cabrera could face the death penalty in Texas for a double homicide.
• Cabrera was armed with an AK-47 and killed two Hispanic boys in Houston.
• Kurt Whitten, Cabrera’s accomplice, was also arrested for the same crime.

Óscar Cabrera was arrested in Texas and charged with capital murder for shooting two boys. The Homicide Division of Houston Police Department (HPD) announced the young man’s arrest for the death of Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce.

The detainee, Óscar Cabrera, 28, will face his criminal trial before Judge Hazel B. Jones of the 174th Criminal District Court in Harris County. Nineteen-year-old Kurt Whitten is also under arrest and facing a capital murder charge for the same crime.

Óscar Cabrera faces the death penalty

According to the Texas State Penal Code, the crime of capital murder, like the one committed by Óscar Cabrera, is punishable by the death penalty for whoever is found guilty at trial.

The details of the case, consulted by MundoNow, give an account of the brutal shooting, perpetrated by Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten, against Thomas Alvarado, 26, and Jeremiah Ponce, 20, north of Houston, Texas. The motive for the crime is not known.

A brutal shooting frightens residents of North Houston

On Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 10:11 p.m. several neighbors called the HPD emergency number to report a shooting involving several young men. According to calls from frantic and frightened neighbors, at least two of the young men were badly injured.

Several HPD troopers responded to the intersection of Aldine Westfield Road and Parker Road in the Easttex/Jensen neighborhood of North Houston Metro. Officers found Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce lying next to a Honda Accord.

Two AK-47 rifles came out of a truck

The first thing that caught the attention of the authorities in the attack on Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce was that the two Hispanic boys had been shot with high caliber bullets from AK-47 rifles. At that time, the names of Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten had not yet come up in the investigation.

Paramedics from the Houston Fire Department (HFD) rushed to the scene to assist the injured boys. However, by the time paramedics arrived at the scene they could do nothing for Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce and they were pronounced dead.

The dead men were also armed

The HPD Homicide Division took up the investigation and, after several weeks, they were able to put the puzzle together in the brutal attack committed by Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten against Tomás Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce. It all started with a fight.

Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce had an altercation with Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten at another location for an unknown reason. After the confrontation, Alvarado and Ponce walked away. The two were also armed with guns.

First Kurt Whitten was arrested and then his accomplice

However, Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten chased them in a black GMC pickup. When the pair caught up with them, they drew their AK-47 rifles and sprayed them with bullets. Thomas Alvarado and Jeremiah Ponce got out of the car with their guns but were unable to defend themselves.

After several weeks of investigation, detectives from the HPD Homicide Division arrested Kurt Whitten on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. That first arrest allowed detectives to identify and capture Óscar Cabrera. Despite their youth, the two are classified as dangerous and were separated from other inmates.

Thousands of people die from gun violence

The brutal crime of Óscar Cabrera and Kurt Whitten against the two young Hispanic men is one more incident involving firearms. The organization National Archive on Gun Violence reported that so far in 2022, 31,131 people have already died in shooting incidents.

As of Sunday, September 11, 2022, of those people shot to death in the United States, a total of 14,301 were killed and 16,830 committed suicide. The country already has suffered 479 mass shootings, in which at least four people died in the same event.