Ethiopian Review

The shooting deaths of two brothers on Monday may be related to the older man’s gang connections, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s officials said.

Officials identified the brothers as Roberto and Jose Hernandez. Both are believed to be in their early 20s.

Deputies responding around 10 a.m. to a call of an abandoned car in a Fresno neighborhood discovered the body of Roberto Hernandez. The body of his younger brother was about a mile down a private dirt road.

Chief Deputy Craig Brady of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department said it appeared the brothers were shot several times with different weapons. He speculated that the dirt road was the shooting scene and that Roberto Hernandez managed to drive a short distance. The green four-door car apparently swerved off the road into a empty home site in a new neighborhood.

Brady said deputies have confirmed that Roberto Hernandez was a figure in the Southwest Cholos street gang.

Although the motive for the double-slaying remains under investigation, deputies suspect that the older man’s gang connections might have played a role.

Ramiro Hernandez, the victims’ father who lives nearby, said one of the brothers left home late Sunday night to get the other one, but he became worried when they didn’t return and weren’t answering their cell phones.

Investigators said the search of the crime scene would continue into today.

“They (the detectives) are doing a lot of legwork — trying to run down and develop some suspects,” Brady said.

Deputies conducted an extensive search of the area. They did not recover any narcotics or a weapon that might have been used, Brady said.

Fresno is between Pearland and Missouri City.

By DALE LEZON | chron