Man charged with murder in brother's slaying

EDINBURG — Zachariah Dee Hooper showed little emotion as the judge accused him of his brother’s murder.

The 20-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning after accompanying his older brother, Jeremiah, to Mission Medical Center to treat a gunshot wound to his neck.

Hooper allegedly shot his brother that morning with his .357-caliber pistol after an argument ensued over who could use the bathroom first. Both men lived at home with their mother, an Hidalgo County Jail detention officer.

Since then, Hooper has offered investigators few insights into why he allegedly shot his brother, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.

"He lawyered up and clammed up," the sheriff said. "We will just work with the evidence we gathered at the scene and witness statements."

Those witnesses were Hooper’s family and friends, who said both young men were arguing and went inside Zachariah’s bedroom, when a single gunshot was heard, the probable cause affidavit in the case states.

Hooper’s criminal history includes no serious arrests, and he has no history of mental illness, Treviño said, but deputies did respond in 2007 to a reported knife fight between the brothers. Neither man filed criminal charges in connection with that incident.

The brick, two-story home at 7522 Inspiration Road, where Hooper allegedly killed his brother, was built in 1979 and has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, Hidalgo County appraisal records show.

An autopsy revealed Jeremiah, 22, died from one gunshot to his neck.

Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Luis Garza set Hooper’s bond at $350,000 for the murder charge. He remained at the Hidalgo County Jail late Wednesday evening.

Jeremiah’s slaying marks the first new homicide that law enforcement in Hidalgo County have investigated this year. There were 42 new homicides investigated by all agencies in the county in 2009.