Gallardo v. State

OPINION

Opinion by

STEVEN C. HILBIG, Justice.

On January 15, 2005, Webb County Sheriff’s Department deputies discovered the burned and bullet-riddled bodies of Roberto Patino and Enrique “Kike” Botel-lo in the trunk of a car in colonia Pueblo Nuevo, east of Laredo. The State charged Rafael Gallardo, Jr., a/k/a “Rafa,” and ¾⅛ others with two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. The State sought to prove the defendants, alleged members of the Mexican Mafia gang, kidnapped and murdered Patino and Botello in retaliation for…