On April 23, 2023, at about 9:25 p.m., deputies found 34-year-old Rufino Gutierrez dead in the driver’s seat of a Nissan Altima in the 23000 block of Holly Ridge Road in Porter, Texas. Gutierrez had multiple gunshot wounds to the head and seven spent 9mm shell casings were recovered inside the vehicle. Investigators concluded the scene was a homicide rather than a suicide.

A witness heard several gunshots and then saw the Altima crash in front of his home. He had loaned that car to Gutierrez earlier that day and had driven with him to a Sorters Road gas station, where Gutierrez met 24-year-old Houston resident Roberto Ausencio. Surveillance showed Gutierrez and Ausencio leaving together around 8:15 p.m., roughly an hour before the shooting. The investigation indicated the killing appeared to be narcotics-related.

On May 3, 2023, deputies served an arrest warrant and took Ausencio into custody; he was charged with Gutierrez’s murder and later indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury. He was released on a $200,000 bond with a court date set for August 31, 2023. Does anyone have information about Gutierrez’s movements that evening or the meeting at the gas station?