In Dallas’ Pleasant Grove neighborhood, Cynthia Trevino is grieving after her 17-year-old granddaughter lost a 22-week unborn child following a shooting on Wimbelton Way. The suspects, 17-year-old Yeremy Zapata Aleman and 20-year-old Keyner Ariel Calero-Jiron, were captured after a police chase and now face capital murder charges while U.S. immigration officials say both are in the country unlawfully and could be deported.
Police say the incident began shortly after midnight on May 3 when a dispute at a 7/11 on Buckner Boulevard escalated into gunfire. Officers responding to the 4700 block of Wimbelton Way found three victims, including a pregnant woman who had been struck multiple times.
Investigators describe the accused following the victims’ vehicle from the gas station and opening fire, hitting occupants inside. Another car was also struck, though that driver was not injured, and officers later arrested the suspects after their car crashed during a police pursuit.
Cynthia Trevino says her granddaughter was 22 weeks along and survived long enough to undergo an emergency C-section, only to lose the baby. “It was a blessing for us — and they took it away from us,” Trevino said, holding to the raw grief the family is living with.
Family members and neighbors are asking the same blunt question about how young people had access to guns in the first place. “Why in the world do they have guns?” Trevino demanded, reflecting the community’s outrage and fear after such a violent turn of events.
Police report finding illegal firearms along with cocaine and MDMA inside the crashed vehicle where the two suspects were detained. The scene and the evidence collected have added multiple drug and weapons charges to the list of charges tied to the shooting.
Legally, Calero-Jiron faces nine counts that include multiple aggravated assault felonies, evading arrest, possession of cocaine, unlawful carrying of a weapon, and a capital murder charge related to the unborn child’s death. Zapata Aleman faces seven counts, including five felony aggravated assault charges, possession of cocaine and a capital murder charge linked to the infant’s death.
ICE has identified Calero-Jiron as a Nicaraguan national who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, and said Zapata Aleman is a citizen of Honduras; officials did not provide full details on the circumstances of his entry. Both men now face potential deportation proceedings in addition to local criminal prosecutions, and if convicted on capital murder charges they could face life without parole or the death penalty.
Those close to the victim are calling for the harshest punishments the law allows, convinced nothing less fits the harm caused. “I don’t care what they do to them. If they give them the death penalty, it’s not going to bring the baby back. It doesn’t matter what — my baby’s not going to come back,” Trevino said, voicing the irreversible loss the family endures.
Dallas Police and prosecutors say the investigation remains active and more details will be released as the case moves through the system. Meanwhile, the family and the neighborhood are left to reckon with the aftermath of a night that began as a gas station dispute and ended with lives shattered and questions about guns, drugs and border security lingering in the air.
