PD: Third man arrested in murders of two Baytown teens

BAYTOWN, Texas – A man who had been considered a person of interest in the deaths of two Baytown teens has been arrested and charged with capital murder, KPRC 2 News has learned.

Baytown police have been looking for Jose Juan Chavez, known as 'Chop,' as a person of interest in the deaths of Alex Chavez, 18, and Jarvis Morgan, 17. Baytown police said Chavez, 17, was arrested Tuesday and has been charged with capital murder in connection with the case.

He was taken into custody at an apartment complex in the 500 block of Massey Tompkins in Baytown after police said they believed he was making plans to flee.

SWAT surrounded the apartment and apprehended Chavez after he complied with requests to surrender, police said.

According to the Baytown Police Department, "Chavez is believed to have been directly involved in the abduction and kidnapping of both victims and was complicit in transporting them forcefully against their will into Chambers County, where he and others knowingly stood by as the two teens were brutally murdered."

Three other men charged in case

The three other men also charged with capital murder all have criminal records, Channel 2 Investigates found through court records.

Brandon Alejandro Flores is the only suspect who remains on the loose. Police believe Flores, 20, could be in Mexico. Several agencies are looking for Flores, including the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force.

In Harris County, Flores was charged as an adult and convicted in a 2012 home burglary in Baytown. Nobody was hurt in that crime. Flores received deferred adjudication, but the deal included a guilty plea.

Valentin Jose Lazo Jr., 28, has the lengthiest record of the three men charged in the deaths.

Lazo was arrested last week and charged with capital murder. He remained in custody Monday without bond.

Lazo has convictions for driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, theft, drug dealing and failure to identify himself, according to court records.

Richard Gonzalez, 21, who was also charged with capital murder and held without bond, pleaded guilty in 2011 to an aggravated assault charge that included serious injuries to another man.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Gonzalez hit the victim so hard the man required reconstructive facial surgery.

"A letter from victim's doctor indicates victim needs surgery and without will have a permanent nasal facial deformity," the court document read.

Police said they are still searching for a motive in this case.


About the Authors:

Award winning investigative journalist who joined KPRC 2 in July 2000. Husband and father of the Master of Disaster and Chaos Gremlin. “I don’t drink coffee to wake up, I wake up to drink coffee.”