Detectives say Instagram messages helped lure two teenagers into an ambush that ended in gunfire.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Nearly four years after two teenagers were killed outside a San Antonio apartment complex, police have arrested a woman accused of using social media to lure the victims into a robbery that turned deadly.
Angie Morales, 21, faces a capital murder charge in the deaths of Gregorio Ricardo Cordova-Mejia, 19, and Angel Ray Garcia, 15. Investigators allege Morales contacted the teens through Instagram before arranging a late-night meeting at the Union Pines apartment complex on July 29, 2022. Detectives say the meeting was part of a robbery plan carried out by multiple people.
Police responding to reports of gunfire found both victims dead near an apartment breezeway shortly before dawn. Investigators documented multiple gunshot wounds and collected shell casings scattered around the complex. Surveillance cameras from nearby buildings captured parts of the chaotic moments surrounding the shooting, according to court records. Witnesses later told officers they saw two men fleeing the area on foot immediately after hearing the shots.
Investigators said Cordova-Mejia’s phone contained Instagram conversations with Morales shortly before the killings. The messages allegedly directed the teenagers to the apartment complex and instructed them to wait outside while Morales briefly stepped away. Detectives believe that delay allowed others involved in the robbery to approach the victims. Phone records and location data later placed Morales in the vicinity during the shooting, according to the affidavit filed in Bexar County.
The investigation stretched on for years with few public developments, frustrating relatives who repeatedly asked for help identifying the people responsible. Families of the victims raised awareness through community events and roadside billboards featuring the teenagers’ photos. San Antonio police also issued Crime Stoppers notices seeking tips from the public. Detectives eventually received information from a confidential informant who allegedly connected Morales to the robbery plot.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed a possible motive beyond robbery, and investigators have not said whether the victims knew they were being targeted. Detectives also have not identified the suspected gunmen mentioned in the affidavit. Prosecutors charged Morales with capital murder involving multiple persons, a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty if a defendant is convicted.
Neighbors living near the apartment complex said memories of the shooting still linger in the community. Several residents recalled hearing rapid gunfire in the middle of the night followed by emergency sirens rushing into the area. “Everybody was looking outside trying to figure out what happened,” one witness said during the investigation. Community advocates later pointed to the case as another example of violent crimes linked to social media communication among young people.
Morales remains jailed in Bexar County with bond set at $250,000. Police said investigators are continuing to examine evidence connected to the killings and have not ruled out future arrests as the case moves through the court system.
Author note: Last updated May 27, 2026.