Family discovers man’s body on porch

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Travis County officials arrested a man in a homicide case in which a man’s body was discovered by a relative on the front porch of a home.

Orbelin Benitez, 34, is charged with the first-degree felony of murder after Jorge Mondragon, 29, was pronounced dead by Austin/Travis County EMS at 4:08 a.m. Saturday.

According to the Travis County Sheriff's Office, a family member of the victim noticed a body on the front porch of the home at 6716 Starcrest Lane. The individual called 911 at approximately 3:45 a.m. and reported that a person had been ‘killed’, according to TCSO P.I.O. Roger Wade.

Detectives on scene believe the victim had been shot but are awaiting an official report by the Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a cause of death. The official cause has not yet been released, but officials said the victim had a gunshot wound to the head.

Following interviews with witnesses, detectives learned that Benitez was at the house with some friends when an argument occurred.

According to the arrest affidavit, Benitez was on the front deck arguing with another guest when he took out a .38-caliber revolver. As one man attempted to take the weapon away from him, the gun went off, hitting the victim in the head. The victim was apparently not involved in the argument.

Detectives learned that the suspect lived in the area and went to his house for questioning. Benitez’s vehicle was present, which was described by witnesses as the car he left the scene in. An exterior search of the vehicle resulted in blood on the outside of the driver’s door and on the inside of the door. The blood could be seen without entering the vehicle. The vehicle was impounded and taken to the East Command Evidence Warehouse.

Benitez has since been located and taken into custody. He has been officially charged with murder, a first-degree felony. This charge comes with imprisonment for five to 99 years in an institutional division of the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice, and up to a $10,000 fine.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about Mr. Benitez’s whereabouts to call Detective Alan Howard at 512-854-4976 or Crime Stoppers at 472-TIPS (472-8477).

This is the fifth homicide investigation for TCSO this year and the second this week.