Dallas artist Tony Lechuga spent several months in the hospital after being shot twice while jogging in East Dallas.
Police said he was an innocent victim caught between warring gangs. Now, with charges against the alleged shooter dismissed, he feels victimized again. Mr. Ruchuga, 38, spends much of his time at his art studio in east Dallas.
As he knew it, life changed after he stepped out of his studio door in July 2022 for an afternoon run along a crowded Santa Fe trail.
“I got shot twice in the stomach here while I was running. I should have died,” Lechuga said.
Doctors removed the bullet from his back. He spent about six months recovering from multiple surgeries and setbacks.
“It felt like I got hit in the stomach with a baseball bat,” Lechuga told NBC 5 from his hospital bed in August 2022.
Dallas police arrested the two suspects about a month later, saying in an arrest affidavit that Tony was an innocent bystander caught between warring gangs.
Gilbert Hubaret pleaded guilty in July 2023 and was sentenced to six years in prison. But Lechuga said she learned the case had been dismissed just before the shooter's trial began earlier this month.
“I was devastated when I found out, knowing that not only would I not get any justice, but I would never have the opportunity or opportunity to receive any kind of justice,” he said. said.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said the case was dismissed “in the interests of justice after speaking with available witnesses.”
For Lechuga, it's like reopening a wound.
“It makes me angry. It makes me furious. I don't know what's going to happen next,” he said.
Lechuga returned to the studio six months after leaving that fateful day.
“My recovery didn’t really start until I came back here,” he said.
He says his latest project was inspired by all the flowers he received at the hospital.
“I think of these as flowers for the living,” Lechuga said.
