Abilene man found guilty of murder, 30-year sentence

ABILENE, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – Arthur Gallegoz was found guilty of killing one and injuring two during a shooting in an Abilene apartment.

In December 2023, Gallegoz was booked into the Taylor County Jail for murder and two counts of Aggravated Assault in connection to the death of Paul John Delacruz and the shooting of two others in February 2022. In July 2024, he stood trial in the 350th district court in Abilene.

According to court documents, Gallegoz engaged in a verbal argument with Delacruz and other residents outside a north Abilene apartment. At some point during the argument, he fired shots in the direction of several people, including Delacruz, who were standing on the second-floor landing of the apartment.

Delacruz fled into the apartment, prompting Gallegoz to fire shots through the door. One of the shots struck and killed Delacruz, and two other people were also shot and seriously injured.

In the courtroom:

During the court proceedings, a victim testified from a wheelchair. She explained that when she visited the Claystone apartments, she parked her truck in a spot that was not assigned to her and was later blocked in by another vehicle. One of the residents of the apartment, Paul Delacruz, approached the people who had blocked her in to ask them to move their vehicle, leading to a disagreement. When she exited the bathroom, she witnessed both Delacruz and another on the ground.

She recalled that her body went stiff, and the next thing she knew, she woke up in the hospital. She was shot in the arm, below her breast, and in the abdomen. The bullets hit both her lungs, right kidney, and spine, and she lost the use of both legs.

Another witness, who was shot several times, shared that he spent 11 months in the hospital and was fed through a tube for a year. Neither witness knows who shot them.

When the defendant’s sister was on the stand, she shared that Delacruz threatened her life, but she did not tell the police that the day of or in a subsequent interview. She told the jury that during the argument, Delacruz threw a water bottle at her and her brother from the upstairs balcony. That’s when she got mad and ran upstairs to fight Delacruz; he ran inside and shut the door on her face. She tried to open the door, but it was closed.

She said Delacruz then opened the door a little, and Gallegoz fired the first shot at the door. She told the jury that Delacruz had something in his hand but did not tell police that the day of or in a subsequent interview.

Gallegoz was found guilty of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. He has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

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