During argument over pot smoking, man shoots neighbor
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SAN JUAN — A man was shot in the back after confronting his neighbors about smoking marijuana near his young children, police said.
The 32-year-old man was transported to McAllen Medical Center, where he is expected to recover from non life-threatening injuries.
The pot problem began on Saturday when the man confronted the three men about smoking marijuana in the open on the 900 block of Shufford Street, apparently visible to the man’s young children, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said.
That day, one of the suspects apparently flashed a pistol and threatened his neighbor.
The dispute turned violent Thursday afternoon when he confronted them again.
The three men allegedly began punching the man outside their house at 913 Shufford St., the chief said. The neighbor fell to the ground. The three neighbors passed around a small-caliber pistol until one of them shot the prone man in the back.
Police said the three suspects, 22-year-old Michael Arroyo, 17-year-old Noe Sifuentes and a 16-year-old juvenile, remained on the run and are members of a local street gang. Gonzalez said investigators believe the trio is hiding in the Pharr-San Juan area and are armed and dangerous. The trio fled the area by the time police arrived minutes later.
Canine units from McAllen and Palmview searched the area. Officers are searching several other locations in the area where the suspects — believed to be armed and dangerous — may be hiding, Gonzalez said.
Neighbor Joe Pineda, who said he is friends with the victim, was pruning tree branches in his yard when he heard the gunshot.
“I heard my friend say, ‘You shot me!”’ said Pineda, 76.
The neighborhood along Shufford Street normally is quiet and most neighbors amicably greet each other, Pineda said. The shooting victim would regularly have cookouts in his yard with his family, he said.
Pineda said the only recent problem that bothers him and his neighbors is the public marijuana smoking across the street.
“They smoke pot all night in there,” he said. “We have never had these problems.”
>> Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspects is urged to contact San Juan Crime Stoppers at (956) 283-9477.
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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.