2nd suspect charged in connection to 2021 murder of airman on leave visiting family

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been nearly two years since a drive-by shooting killed an airman visiting his family while on leave, and police have just arrested a second suspect.

Jose Leonel Cabrera, 30, is charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the Aug. 8, 2021, incident.
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The Houston Police Department believes Cabrera is one of the men involved in the shooting that killed 22-year-old Albert Castillo Jr. and injured his father.

Police said the other suspect, Giovanni Matt Ornelas, 31, was also charged with murder.

SEE PREVIOUS REPORT: Man arrested in deadly shooting of airman outside father's Houston home


HPD said that evening, Castillo, Jr. was standing outside his father's house on Newport Street when someone drove by and started shooting. His father suffered a gunshot wound to his arm and survived but Castillo Jr. did not make it.
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His family told ABC13 in 2021 that Castillo Jr. was an Airman First Class and on active duty on a two-week leave to visit family and friends in Houston, where he grew up. He was based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.



One of the shooters had an AR-15-style rifle and sped off toward the Gulf Freeway, according to police. Ornelas was identified as one of the suspects early in the investigation and arrested on Aug. 19, 2021, without incident.

Further investigation identified Cabrera as a second suspect in the case, and he was subsequently charged with murder on Tuesday.

Detectives learned Cabrera was already in the custody of the Texas Department of Corrections for an unrelated case.