“El Yiyo” – main suspect in the murder of Ray Ball and Jo Anne Butler was shot and killed by soldiers on patrol in the Cataviña area
Reports are coming out this morning that Héctor Daniel Quiñónez Cortez, alias “El Yiyo”, was shot and killed by elements of the Mexican military in an area near Cataviña, south of Ensenada.
Shortly after midnight yesterday, soldiers from the 67th Infantry Battalion out of San Quintin were on patrol on a local road in the town of El Mármol, Cataviña Delegation, when they observed a vehicle attempting to flee and the soldiers began a pursuit.
At some point thereafter, a gun battle ensued and aboard the vehicle was found the body of “El Yiyo”, killed by the soldiers gunfire.
“El Yiyo” was a resident of Bahía de los Ángeles, where all of the local local residents knew him to be a drug trafficker as well as a thief, suspected of countless home burglaries in the local area.

Suspect in the murder of Ray Ball and Jo Anne Butler
Héctor Daniel Quiñónez Cortez – “El Yiyo” – was arrested on December 13, 2019 for his participation in the double homicide of Americans Jo Anne Butler and Ray Edward Ball, which occurred during an attempted robbery in the early morning of June 2, 2018, at their home where the retired couple lived in the Bahía de Los Ángeles delegation.
Quiñónez Cortez was arrested based on statements given by 3 separate witnesses who all identified him as being involved with the attempted robbery and the murders of Ray Ball and Jo Anne Butler.
A week later, on December 18, during the hearing to formally charge Quiñónez Cortez for his participation in the crime, his attorney presented the same three witnesses who had previously given their testimony before agents of the Ministerial Police, accusing El Yiyo of the murders.
At that hearing, the three witnesses all recanted their accusations and claimed they had been pressured by the agents interrogating them to finger Quiñónez Cortez.

After hearing their testimony recanting their previous statements, the judge – José Luis Castañeda – ruled that there was insufficient evidence to charge Quiñónez Cortez and he was released.
The judge then reprimanded the agents, based on the witnesses charges, but it is widely suspected that the families of the 3 witnesses were threatened and why the witnesses all suddenly changed their stories.
It has also been alleged that Rubén Arenivar – defense attorney for Quiñónez Cortez – was involved in the threats to the families of the witnesses.
Four months later, that same defense attorney was found murdered in his car in Ensenada on April 24, 2020.


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