A North Texas man convicted of the murder of his teenage girlfriend will spend the rest of his life in jail.
On Friday, a jury found Simeon Bonilla-Rubio, 22, guilty of capital murder for the shooting death of his 19-year-old girlfriend more than two years ago, according to the Denton County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Bonilla-Rubio was automatically sentenced to life without parole.
Denton police responded to a call on April 28, 2021, after a man crashed his car on Interstate 35E and then was seen pushing a woman who appeared to be covered in blood into the car, Fox 4 KDFW reported. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found Cassity Hinojosa, who was pregnant, inside the vehicle.
She was transported to the hospital but died due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Bonilla-Rubio fled the scene and asked a bystander who was unaware of the unfolding situation to call an Uber ride for him. Denton police tracked Bonilla-Rubio’s route using the Uber app and subsequently contacted Dallas police, who arrested him at his destination in the Redbird area of Dallas.
The Uber driver was not harmed during the 45-mile drive to Dallas.
“We appreciate all the diligent work of our Denton PD personnel and the Denton County DA’s Office that led to this conviction and sentence,” said the Denton Police Department in a Facebook post.
In Dallas, 153 murders have been reported so far this year — up 9% from this time last year — according to the City’s August 2 Daily Crime Briefing.
Further, a recent City analysis found that the Dallas Police Department is facing a significant staffing shortage for a city of this size and currently lacks about 900 officers.
Other cities in Texas, including Fort Worth, have implemented units that are dedicated to their downtown area and have seen significant drops in the rate of offenses in these high-crime areas since implementation.