Motorcyclist charged with murder, intoxication manslaughter in Mission crash

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — More than a month after being accused of causing a fatal crash, a Mission motorcyclist has been charged with murder. Apolonio Perez, 39, of Mission was charged with murder, a first-degree felony; intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle, a second-degree felony; and evading arrest, a third-degree felony, on June 12, according to Mission court records. A judge set bail at $3.25 million. The crash happened at about 3:45 a.m. on May 3. DPS said, at the time, that a trooper attempted to make a traffic stop on a motorcycle on Business 83 and Bensen Road and a motorcyclist allegedly sped away. That's when a chase began. DPS then issued a regional call alerting officers to the chase, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by ValleyCentral. A Mission police officer in the area witnessed a white motorcycle traveling eastbound on the westbound lane before crashing head-on into another motorcycle on the Frontage Road near Holland Avenue. The police officer found the driver of the white motorcycle, identified as Perez, unconscious but breathing. Perez was taken to a hospital with "several fractures and a laceration on top of his head," according to the affidavit. The motorcyclist who was crashed into, identified in the affidavit as John Andrew Alonso, was pronounced dead at the scene. A toxicology report indicated that Perez's blood alcohol concentration level was 0.19 about an hour after the crash. A driver is legally intoxicated in Texas when their blood alcohol concentration reaches 0.08 percent, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Perez was booked into Hidalgo County jail on Monday, where he remained as of Thursday afternoon.