SAN ANTONIO – Neighbors said Enrique Gutierrez Sr., his son, Enrique Gutierrez Jr., and the three other men who share a home in a duplex in the 100 block of South San Eduardo Street were all just hardworking men, good neighbors and friends.
A police affidavit stated that Juan Raul Almendarez, 24, and his 19-year-old brother, Alejandro Almendarez-Hurtado, robbed the Gutierrez home on Friday. Both men are charged with capital murder. Police also believe two others may have been involved.
"They're always just there. They never bother anybody. They're just there minding their own business," said Diana Rodriguez, a neighbor who lives across the street from Gutierrez.
Another neighbor, Arturo Torrez, echoed similar sentiments.
"They work every day. They left the house (at) 6 a.m. and come back around 6 p.m.," said Torrez, a construction supervisor.
The affidavit stated that Almendarez, who used to work construction with Gutierrez Sr., knew Friday was their pay day and knew the boss hand-delivered their pay. Statements also showed that the murder suspect knew the back door to the victims' South San Eduardo home would be open.
A witness sitting at a backyard table obscured by trees told police he saw the Almendarez brothers enter the home with weapons and heard gunfire a short while later.
"I think it’s an evil thing. It’s not a normal thing because normal human beings don't do that. Like an animal. Like the devil," said Arturo Torrez, who said he's been neighbors and friends with Gutierrez for a decade.
Rodriguez said she heard the gunshots and watched the tragedy unfold.
"I saw him on the floor. You could just see the blood going down. The poor thing was just full of blood. We were in shock, and that's when I called the cops," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said Gutierrez Sr., who was pronounced dead at University Hospital shortly after the shooting, was close friends with her father. She said it was hard watching her father try to save his friend of almost 10 years, bleeding at his feet.
"So my dad opens the door and he falls back. He couldn't talk. He couldn't do anything," Rodriguez said.
As of Sunday evening, Juan Raul "El Toro" Almendarez's younger brother, Almendarez-Hurtado, was still at large.