GUILTY TX - Carey 'Rod' Tate, 32, brutally murdered, Abilene, 27 Dec 2014

John "Pat" Gutierrez, 38, is accused of beating Tate to death with a wrench, according to court documents. He was arrested last week. The killing happened in the early morning hours on Dec. 27 at an apartment on Musken Street.

Last week, police said they believed Gutierrez placed Tate's body in a dog kennel, drove to Jones County near Hawley, and buried it on a plot of land. The location of where Gutierrez allegedly took the body was reportedly described by a witness.

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According to the affidavit, Gutierrez went to his ex-girlfriend's house and was enraged to find Tate with her at the house.

They believe she witnessed the killing and waited to come forward because she was afraid he would hurt or kill her if she told.

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A 30-year-old Abilene woman has been arrested for allegedly threatening a witness in an investigation involving murder suspect John Patrick Gutierrez.

The Abilene Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division arrested Melissa Rae Ceja on the charge of retaliation Thursday. According to court documents, Ceja texted the witness, threatening to "rip out" her tongue in retaliation for the witness reporting the murder of Carey Rod Tate.

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Gutierrez's ex-girlfriend, and the only witness to the incident, reported Gutierrez to the police on Feb. 11. She took the stand on Thursday afternoon for his examining trial, alleging another person involved in the murder.

When she first told police about the incident, she said he acted alone, but on the stand, she said Gutierrez and his friend worked together. She said they repeatedly kicked Tate in the head, resulting in his death.

She also testified that the two men later took Tate to Hawley to bury him and, to make sure he was dead, shot him in the head.

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The lead detective working Gutierrez's case, an Abilene Police officer, his former girlfriend, and the witness who called 9-1-1 during an alleged aggravated assault all took the stand, and based on their accounts, the presiding judge ruled there was enough probable cause to hold Gutierrez on charges of murder and aggravated assault.

The judge also decided his bond amount is sufficient, so he is still being held on a $250,000 bond.

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(ABILENE, TX) - A second suspect arrested in connection to the murder of a Taylor County man is accused of helping the alleged killer dispose of the body.

Wesley Dale Mason, 39, provided John Patrick Gutierrez with a dog kennel and dolly used to transport the body of Carey Rod Tate from a crime scene at an apartment complex on Musken Road in Abilene to the burial site on private property near Hawley off Highway 277, according to a search warrant for Mason's DNA filed in a Taylor County Court.

Gutierrez allegedly went to Tate's residence in December of 2014 and killed him by assaulting him with a wrench, choking him, and breaking his neck in front of a witness.

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Mason was also one of two suspects accused of stabbing a man outside Logan's Roadhouse in November of 2013.

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Authorities say a West Texas man must serve life in prison for his role in the 2014 fatal beating of a man he found at an ex-girlfriend's home.

John Patrick Gutierrez pleaded guilty Monday in Abilene to tampering with evidence. Court records show the 40-year-old Abilene man also faced a murder charge, which was dropped in the plea deal over the attack using a wrench.

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Wesley Dale Mason, 40, agreed to a guilty plea Monday in the 42nd District Court in Abilene for moving the body of man allegedly murdered in December 2014.

He received eight years deferred adjudication (probation) with a $1,000 fine for the second-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence — human corpse after police allege Mason moved the body of Carey Rod Tate.

If Mason does not complete his probation properly, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

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New court documents show an Abilene man charged with murder after a fatal shootout last week violated probation eleven times after he took a plea deal for a charge connected to a separate murder in May of 2016.

A "Motion to Revoke" probation order issued for Wesley Dale Mason on Wednesday details the violations, which, in addition to the murder allegations, include alcohol, drugs, failing to report, and more.

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Wesley Dale Mason was arrested and charged with murder in connection with Saturday's death [3-4-2017] of Dusty Childress, 39, the Jones County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

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Torres said the confrontation was “biker gang related.”

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