A Port Arthur man jailed for allegedly shooting another man in the face last week is now charged in the murder for a second shooting.
Jose Esquivel, 23, is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Denzel Jervon Washington, a 25-year-old Port Arthur man found shot to death in his car July 16. Esquivel is also charged with aggravated assault in the shooting of Jafar A. Hill, 37. Bond is set at $250,000 for each charge, Port Arthur Police Maj. Raymond Clark said.
The violence acts began in the early morning hours of July 16. Police responded to Christus Hospital-St. Mary in reference to a shooting victim who had arrived by private vehicle. The victim, Jafar A. Hill, 37, of Port Arthur, had a single gunshot wound to his face. The bullet had entered his face and come to rest in Hill’s neck, according to a press release from PAPD. He was later transferred to Christus Hospital-St. Elizabeth in Beaumont for possible surgical procedure and treatment.
Officers located several items of evidence including the weapon they believe was used in the shooting that occurred in the 1200 block of 12th Avenue. Preliminary investigation along with evidence at the scene lead police to suspect the shooting was drug related.
The suspect was later lawfully detained while officers were investigating the aggravated assault and was able to escape from the back of the patrol car, according to an officer with PAPD. The man was located around 9 a.m.  that morning in the 900 block of Pecos and jailed on felony escape charges.
Then, at about 6:30 a.m. July 16, a passerby noticed an unresponsive man in a white Buick Regal near the intersection of 15th Street and Sixth Avenue. Police responded and found the man, identified as Denzel Jervon Washington, 25, dead from a gunshot wound to the head and he had been shot multiple times, according to police.
Police said Washington was last seen at 1:30 a.m. early that morning.
While in jail on the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge stemming from the alleged shooting of Hill, Esquivel made a statement to police regarding the murder of Washington, Clark said.
Clark gave kudos to those who worked the case.
“This is a cumulative effort on the part of the district attorney’s office, detectives division, street crimes, vice and patrol who gathered the necessary information and worked tirelessly for several days straight to solve the crime,” Clark said.
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