A member of the notoriously violent Texas Syndicate was found guilty in the attempted murder of his cousin who said the attack came as revenge for talking to the police.
According to The Hutchinson News, Venancio Vigil Jr., 41, was found guilty of second-degree attempted murder on May 11 in a Reno County, Kansas, courtroom.
The victim, Francisco Gracia Jr., said that he was attacked by his cousin because he gave information to the police about a member of the Texas Syndicate, a gang where Vigil is a member.
The attack happened in August 2016 at a Gracia’s mother’s home in Hutchinson where he was stabbed several times by Vigil before escaping through a window and running home. He said he hid behind some bushes as Vigil drove by in his SUV searching for him.
The county attorney believes that Vigil, who was with two other men that day, then tried to destroy any evidence that could connect him to the crime by dumping it into a nearby river. Investigators could not locate the knife used in the attack; however, investigators did locate a pile of burnt clothes that they used as evidence. Ultimately it was a spot of blood on Vigil’s shoe and a matching shoe print found in some sand that connected him to the crime.
Due to prior criminal convictions, Vigil faces up to 20.5 years in prison for stabbing his cousin, when he faces sentencing on June 15. After he had been found guilty, Judge Joesph McCarville increased his bond from $100,000 to $250,000.
“Vigil has been convicted of aggravated battery in another stabbing and two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a girl under the age of 16,” The Hutchinson News noted.
The aggravated indecent liberties incident took place in 2001 when County Attorney Keith Schroeder said he had sex with the teen while she was passed out at a party as others told him to stop.
Ryan Saavedra is a contributor for Breitbart Texas and can be found on Twitter at @RealSaavedra.
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