Antonio “Tony” Lechuga. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Lechuga.
Two men have been taken into custody in connection to the shooting of an artist from Oak Cliff on the Santa Fe Trail, KDFW reports.
Antonio “Tony” Lechuga was jogging on the trail near his East Dallas home at about 6:30 p.m. July 15 when he was shot twice near Old East Dallas Work Yard.
As we previously reported, Lechuga shared in an Instagram post that he didn’t see anything but knew he was shot.
“It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me or hit me in the stomach with a bat,” he wrote in the post.
Jonathan Chapa, 21, and Gilbert Uvalle, 20, were booked into Dallas County Jail on Aug. 18.
Two gangs are suspected to have ties to this shooting and other crimes in Dallas and Garland. Dallas police spoke with multiple witnesses. Two of those witnesses suspect Lechuga was caught in the crossfire of the intended targets, according to an arrest warrant obtained by KXAS.
The same gangs are suspected to have ties to the shooting of 14-year-old Jordan Perez, a J.L. Long Middle School student who was fatally shot in June near the Old East Dallas Work Yard Park.
Chapa’s bond is set at $450,000, and Uvalle’s bond is set at $225,000.
