Death penalty sought for capital murder of Tyler teen

TYLER – The district attorney’s office elected to seek the death penalty for one of three men charged with capital murder in the June 2021 death of a Tyler 17-year-old. According to our news partner KETK, Andres Urrutia, 21 of Tyler and his two co-defendants were indicted for capital murder by terroristic threat in September 2021 after Jesse McNeely, 17, was found shot at his home on Omega Drive. Two of the men charged in this case, Urrutia and his co-defendant Lorenzo Martinez, 22 of Tyler, were arrested days after the shooting in Galveston County before being transported back to Tyler and booked into the Smith County Jail.

Tyler police named a third suspect months later in August 2021, and Jason Rhodes, 22 of Tyler, was arrested for capital murder in December 2022 after engaging in a chase with law enforcement. Urrutia was also one of several young men accused last year of brutally assaulting a friend after the victim allegedly “snitched” on them to law enforcement. While visiting a friend at the Smith County Jail, Urrutia allegedly told him about the attack at the park and said they threw him into a ditch. The capital murder trial for Urrutia is currently set for Sept. 25, and his two co-defendants are set to next appear in court on Nov. 27.