Man wanted in shooting death of 19-year-old ex-girlfriend in Pasadena

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- The search is on for a 20-year-old man accused of shooting and killing his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend in Pasadena. Investigators said he cried on the phone with the victim's mother after shots were fired.

The ambush happened shortly before midnight at the Oakwood Village Apartments on Pasadena Boulevard.

Pasadena police said they are looking for 20-year-old Juan Carlos Mata.

Investigators believe he may still have the gun he used to allegedly shoot and kill his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of the apartment complex.

If you see him, police say you should not approach him.

Police say Mata had been waiting in the parking lot since around 6 or 7 p.m. for his ex-girlfriend to get off from her shift at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

When the 19-year-old got home just before midnight, investigators say Mata shot her in the head and fired a couple rounds into the air before running off with the gun.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members identified her as Lesley Reyes.

"He didn't just hurt my sister, he hurt our community," Reyes' sister, Lourdes Martinez, told ABC13. "I know she had a lot of life ahead of her. She was just 19 years old."

Martinez said she wants people to remember her only sister as gracious and funny.

Police said Reyes broke up with Mata about a month ago. Family members said he didn't accept the break up. He would reportedly text her and show up at her apartment complex.

"She had broken up with him. There's only one other documented incident, which was a disturbance from about a year ago. There was no instances of domestic violence that we investigated between them, but apparently he had been trying to contact her. She was trying to stay away from him," Sgt. Raul Granados said.

"He didn't want to see her with someone else," Martinez said. "He knew what he did. He knew what he did."

Police said the Reyes' parents also live at the complex and actually heard the shots from the parking lot. Her mom called her daughter to warn her about being careful, having no idea it was her own daughter who had just been shot and killed.

Investigators said Mata picked up Reyes' phone, spoke to her mother, crying, repeatedly saying he was sorry, and that's when he took off.

"My stomach is just in knots just reliving her screams, you know?" another neighbor said. "Now it's like, oh my God, I can't believe somebody who looked so happy ended up being murdered, cold blooded."

Neighbors saw Mata from time to time and said they thought he was friendly. Junior Salazar, who woke up to the sound of four shots fired right outside his apartment, said the suspect recently bought his daughter ice cream.

"He looked like a really nice person," Salazar said. "It's just crazy that something like that can happen."

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