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Lead investigator questioned during ‘El Gallito’ murder trial

Lead investigator questioned during ‘El Gallito’ murder trial
1 month 4 weeks 23 hours ago Thursday, October 10 2024 Oct 10, 2024 October 10, 2024 3:46 PM October 10, 2024 in News - Local

The lead investigator in the case of a Harlingen attorney whose remains were found in 2020 was back on the witness stand Thursday.

Salomon Campos Jr. is on trial in connection with the death of his uncle, Harlingen attorney Ernesto "El Gallito" Gonzales.

Authorities say Gonzales was kidnapped and shot. He was reported missing in June 2017 after filing a temporary protective order against some of his family members.

Gonzales’ body was found in 2020 buried in Campos’ goat farm, according to the Harlingen Police Department.

Harlingen police investigator Sgt. Manuel Tovar took over the investigation in Dec. 2017. On Thursday, he talked about the remains that were recovered in June 2020.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Lead investigator testifies in 'El Gallito' murder trial

Tovar told the jury that Campos was charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping after bones were recovered in the property.

A video that was extracted from Campos’ phone was shown to the jury for a second time. The video showed Campos taking video of police searching his goat farm back in 2018.

Before the video ended, Campos was seen smiling and laughing. 

Another video was shown to the jury that showed chicken coops. Campos was heard explaining in the video that the holes that were created following a 2018 visit when Border Patrol agents probed the ground.

Orange fencing was seen in the video, and Tovar said the fencing was near the area where remains were found.

During Tovar’s testimony, jurors were also shown aerial shots of the home of Gonzales’ older brother — Louis.

Tovar explained that officers with the Harlingen Police Department searched the home since it was the last place Gonzales’ phone was at before it shut off according to the GPS timeline. 

Tovar said he noted a disturbance of rubble found near Louis’ home, but they didn’t find any evidence.

Jurors also saw photos of an aerial view of Campos’ home, but police came up short in that search.

Tovar would later reach out to former Texas Ranger Raul Garza for assistance in the investigation.

READ MORE: Retired Texas Ranger testifies in 'El Gallito' murder trial

During cross-examination, Campos’ defense team asked Tovar why police didn’t obtain specific evidence like phone records from the victim’s sister and niece. Authorities previously said they believed the two women were involved in this case.

Tovar replied, “I don’t know.”

Jurors were also presented with records of a GPS tracking device that Campos subscribed to on June 28, 2017, weeks before Gonzales disappeared.

Previous testimony revealed that Campos admitted to buying a GPS tracking device to track Gonzales. 

Prosecutors also showed records that Campos canceled his GPS service on July 18, 2017, the day his uncle went missing

The defense argued that there is no evidence to show that the device was ever used.

Sgt. Tovar is expected to be back on the stand on Friday morning. 

The judge in the trial said she anticipates the state will rest their case that same day. 

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