A man was arrested in connection with the murder of a man who was reported missing in August 2024, according to an arrest affidavit. Yesid Villabona Leon, 38, was booked on charges of murder, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse without legal authority, Bexar County records show.
Investigation Details
Jorge Perales was reported missing to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office by his mother on Aug. 26, 2024. She told authorities that Perales contacted her daily but had not heard from him since Aug. 21, 2024. When she went to his home in south Bexar County, the affidavit states that both roommates’ bedrooms were empty and that his vehicle was missing.
Using cell phone data, investigators tracked Perales’ phone from his residence to Atascosa County near Whitsett, where it was shut off on Aug. 22, 2024. The affidavit states cell phone data tracked Perales’ device at a Valero gas station off Interstate 37. Surveillance video at the gas station showed an unknown man exiting a silver Nissan Sentra similar to the one owned by Perales, according to the affidavit.
He was seen talking to a man driving a black Nissan Sentra inside the store before leaving together. Investigators obtained the license plate for the black Nissan Sentra through surveillance video. The vehicle was last tracked in North Carolina on Sept. 4, 2024, the affidavit states.
A North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation special agent located the vehicle and identified the driver as Villabona Leon. He told law enforcement he had moved out of Perales’ home on Aug. 16, 2024. According to the affidavit, on Nov. 21, 2024, police located Perales’ vehicle abandoned in a downtown San Antonio parking lot.
A search warrant revealed blood and an empty bleach bottle inside the vehicle. A tip led investigators to identify a second suspect, Marlon Garcia, who was seen in surveillance video from the Valero gas station, the affidavit states. Arrest warrants were issued for both Villabona Leon and Garcia, the affidavit said.
Arrest and Confession
U.S. Marshals arrested Villabona Leon in North Carolina and booked him into the Durham County Jail. Villabona Leon was later taken back to Texas, where he confessed that his roommate Garcia allegedly strangled and killed Perales, the affidavit states. He told investigators the body was taken to an unknown ranch near the Atascosa and Live Oak county lines.
Villabona Leon was then booked into the Atascosa County Jail on a warrant for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. On March 13, 2025, law enforcement searched the Davis Ranch area in Live Oak County and located human remains. Villabona Leon confirmed that the location was where Perales’ body had been dumped, according to the affidavit.
Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
