Jose Luis Cepeda Cortes Gets Double Life for Southlake Murder

Jose Luis Cepeda Cortes, 60, is behind bars for life — twice over — after being sentenced to two life terms plus 240 months for his part in the cold-blooded 2013 murder of Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa in Southlake, Texas. The Mexican citizen, convicted at trial in May 2016, now faces eternity in federal prison for a hit orchestrated from across the border. Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means handed down the sentence yesterday in Fort Worth, marking a grim end to a years-long pursuit of justice.

The execution-style killing took place on May 22, 2013, at 6:47 p.m., in the middle of Southlake Town Square. Surveillance footage and trial evidence show a Toyota Sequoia pulling up behind Chapa’s parked Range Rover. A gunman stepped out, approached the vehicle, and fired multiple 9mm rounds through the window. Chapa died at the scene. His wife, standing nearby, was unharmed but traumatized by the brazen attack in a bustling suburban plaza.

Cepeda Cortes was found guilty on one count of interstate stalking, one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and one count of tampering with documents or proceedings—specifically, destroying computer evidence between May 2013 and September 2014. The plot spanned years and borders: from March 2011 to the day of the murder, Cepeda Cortes and co-defendants Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, 60, and Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, 33, traveled between Mexico and Texas with the intent to stalk, harass, and ultimately kill Chapa.

The hit was ordered by Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, known as “El Gato” or “the Cat,” a Mexican national seeking revenge for his father’s murder. Ledezma-Cepeda received payments from “El Gato” and funneled money to his son, Ledezma-Campano, who used his tech skills to track Chapa. The younger Ledezma created encrypted email accounts, exchanged photos of Chapa’s home, and monitored vehicle patterns. Surveillance cameras were installed in the neighborhood; GPS trackers were slapped onto Chapa’s Range Rover and family vehicles.

When the time came, “El Gato” dispatched two assassins—known by the aliases “Clorox” and “Captain”—to carry out the hit. Ledezma-Campano met them and confirmed their mission. One became the triggerman. The conspiracy was tight, tech-savvy, and ruthless—fueled by vengeance and funded by cartel-style payments across international lines.

Ledezma-Cepeda, also convicted in May 2016 on counts of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder for hire, awaits sentencing on December 6, 2016. His son, Ledezma-Campano, already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years on August 18, 2016, after testifying for the prosecution. Each charge carried a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The DOJ’s Northern District, led by U.S. Attorney John Parker, called it a textbook case of transnational murder-for-hire—with justice finally served in iron bars and life without parole.