El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-12-20
OCHOA'S Statement
Concerning The Killing Of Al

Jesus Ochos, father of the fifteen
year-cld boy accused of firing the fatal
shot that caused the death of
Leon Alvarez near Anthony, was in
the city yesterday, and to HERALD
reporter made the following statement
concerning the killing.
''Lass Tuesday morning I left home
to take my wife to Chihushua, leaving
my son Jesus and the rest of the family
at home. On my return from Chihua.
hus to Ell Peso Sunday I heard Oh the
streets that Leon Alvarez had been
shot and 1 continued my journey home.
On arriving there 1 inquired of my son
if there was anything new.
He replied that on Wednesday at
| about p. H., while at the house he
saw two turtle doves about two hun
dred yards away and thought he would
try his craftsmanship on them. He
said he took his rifle, Winchester,
and shot at the doves and
| failed to touch them. He
| said that before the shooting be was
| careful to make sure that no person or
animal was in range of his fire. BE
could see no one but there were high
| thick bushes on the other side of the
| doves and he could not see sthrough
| those bushes. But he said he was con-
| fdent that the bullet he fred at the
doves was the same bullet that proved
| SO fatal for Alvarez
"My son said that being disguised
over the aim he put up the rifle and
was still in the house when he heard
the excited voices of a number of peo-
pie who we're shouting to each other.
He went up on the roof of the house to
| ascertain what the excitement was
| about. The first man he saw was VII
cente Garcia, on horseback, and Gar
cha asked him If he knew who had fir
| ed that shot. The excitement of Gar
| cha satisfied my con that the shot had
| done some damage to something, SO he
| was afraid to acknowledge that he fir
ed it and disclaimed any knowledge as
| to Who fired it.
my son IAN xious to discover what had
| happened, hurried out to the place
where Alvarez lay surrounded by q
| number of people. Alvarez asked him
If he knew who fired the shot, he re-
men presen. in q very excited manner
turned on my son and ssid:" You are
the one that fred that shot, Alvarez
agreed with them and told my boy he
| was very ungrateful. My son said he
wanted to confess to Alvarez and tell
him about the doves and how it hap
pened, but he was afraid of violence
at the hands Of the men.
but l know that my boy has told
me the truth and that he is innocent
| of having intended harm to Leon AL
varez or to any one else. I leave for
Las Cruces on the morning train; my
son will meet me at Anthony and l
| will take him to Las Cruces and turn
him over to the authorities of Dona
| Ana county.
"NO one saw my son do the shooting.
| but he made the confession to me just
| as 1 have stated it to you and I am the
only person besides himself and you
who know tonight how that fatal shot
| was fred
Mr. Ochoa is q prominent citizen of
Dona Ana county.
OchOa. the elder, left this morning
via the Santa Fee for Las Cruces. He
| stated that he would take his son to
| Las Cruces and surrender him to the
authorities.
The two sons of Leon Alvarez. who
were in Ell Paso yesterday, said their
father accused no one of the killing
| and did not state before his death any
| thing that might throw any light on
the mysterious shooting. He said he
knew OF no one whom he could suspect
| OF shooting him Intentionally.
| The relatives of Alvarez are not sat-
isfied that the killing of the deceased
was the result of an accident.
| They claim that young Ochoa was
severely reprimanded by Alvarez
early that morning for shooting pro-
miscuously with his Winchester in the
vicinity of numerous cattle and horses.
| They claim that he resented the re-
primsnd administered by Alvarez and
that he ambushed the ranchman and
was actuated to commit the deed by