A man long suspected of a fatal assault in 2020 has been arrested and charged with the murder of 55-year-old Jose Luis Mesta, authorities announced. The arrest comes after detectives pieced together evidence that led them to Miguel Angel Moreno, 62, who is now facing murder charges in the 488th State District Court. According to a recent news release from the City of Houston, a 2022 booking photo of Moreno, who is in custody, has also been made available.
Mesta's body was discovered inside an apartment at 2502 1/2 Elysian Street by patrol officers responding to a call about a person down on the early afternoon of Feb. 1, 2020. The victim had suffered blunt force trauma, and paramedics pronounced him deceased at the scene. Witnesses, who initiated the call to 911, mentioned they were concerned after not being able to reach Mesta and discovered him unresponsive upon entering his unlocked apartment, as detailed on the same news release.
HPD Homicide Division Detectives T. Colbert, M. Barrow, and J. Caten spearheaded the investigation that eventually implicated Moreno. It was "further investigation and evidence" that guided detectives to Moreno, who was then "subsequently charged on Thursday (Aug. 22)," according to the information given by the HPD. Moreno, who was already in custody on a separate felony charge, remains detained as the legal process unfolds.
