Before an illegal alien allegedly killed a woman on Grapevine Lake during Memorial Day weekend, likely Venezuelan crowds had been gathering at the location for “months” with large amounts of alcohol, The Dallas Express has learned.
“It’s kind of turned into kind of a big, big party,” said Raul Barraza, a nearby resident who frequents the location with his family, to The Dallas Express. “Beer everywhere.”
Barraza explained that he lives just minutes from Oak Grove Park in Grapevine, where Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez allegedly struck and killed 18-year-old Ava Moore with a jet ski on May 25, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Gonzalez fled the scene with Maikel Coello Perozo.
Both suspects, 21, are illegal aliens from Venezuela, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. They were caught illegally crossing the southern border in 2023, but officials under President Joe Biden’s administration released them at the time. The Texas Game Wardens and Grapevine Police Department captured the suspects on May 27 after a days-long manhunt. ICE has placed them on immigration holds, and they are now in “removal proceedings.”
Barraza told The Dallas Express that he and his family routinely visit the park where Moore lost her life. He said for months, from Katy’s Woods to Oak Grove Park – where the tragedy occurred – “it’s madness” between Thursday and Sunday.
“We’ve kind of seen it from a distance the past couple months, and it just kind of gets crazy,” he said. “It’s almost turned into a party, dude. Beer everywhere.”
Barraza’s wife is from Colombia, so she recognized the crowds were speaking in accents described as “definitely” from Venezuela – “no doubt about it.” The park area by the baseball field is usually where “all the commotion happens.” He said he has not seen any drug use but “would not doubt it.”
“The lake is supposed to be a place where you go find some peace, get relaxed, get close to nature,” Barraza said. “For a place that’s always been kept clean, it’s crazy seeing it just kind of get grimy.”
He also said he has heard instances of men roaming the park, offering jet skis for rent to the “big crowd.”
The Dallas Express asked the Grapevine Police Department where the suspects got the jet ski, but Media Manager Amanda McNew directed inquiries to the Texas Game Wardens.
Maggie Berger, public information officer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department – which oversees the game wardens – told The Dallas Express that officials are investigating the ownership of the jet ski Gonzalez was operating at the time.
“The Texas Game Warden Marine Theft Investigation Unit is looking into the ownership history of the personal watercraft,” Berger said. She also said she is “unable to release any additional details relating to the ownership” of the jet ski due to the “ongoing investigation.”