Drug Robber Behind Bars

“Dallas Man who killed Highland Park high Student During Drug Robbery now Behind Bars”

The man who killed a former Highland Park High student during a drug robbery is now behind bars, according to Dallas police. Juan Antonio Cardenas, 19, was booked into the Dallas County jail on a charge of capital murder.

Cardenas fatally shot an 18-year-old student during a January drug deal, authorities said. In an arrest warrant, police wrote that Cardenas was one of three people who robbed Joseph Pintucci at gunpoint the night of January 24 in a parking garage at The Shops at Park Lane in northeast Dallas.

Pintucci was found about 10:15 pm, slumped over in the driver’s seat of a white Lincoln sedan near Dick’s Sporting Goods. Officers said Pintucci had been shot and later died at a hospital.

According to the affidavit, Pintucci had met with Cardenas, 24-year-old Rene Eduardo Montanez Jr. and a third person to sell about 50 THC vape canisters. The price was estimated to be around $1,500. As they negotiated, the trio all pulled guns on Pintucci, said the police.

The third person, who remains unidentified, grabbed the Crown Royal whisky bag that held the cartridges, and then Cardenas fired a single shot at Pintucci as the three ran away. A witness reported seeing them laughing as they fled.

Two days after the incident, Dallas police arrested Montanez on a capital murder charge while also releasing a sketch of the gunman to the public.

A detective received a tip several weeks later that Cardenas had admitted to the slaying. A second person also came forward and said he had information that Cardenas was the shooter. The affidavit revealed that Cardenas knew Pintucci because he attended Evolution Academy, a Richardson charter school that the victim had gone to after he withdrew from Highland Park High in 2018.

Police wrote in the affidavit that school records showed that Cardenas attended only half the school day on the day following the shooting when an announcement was made on the campus PA system about Pintucci’s death. Cardenas was absent in every subsequent school day until he withdrew in February 13.

In November, police obtained Cardenas’ Snapchat records, including messages about committing a robbery the night of January 24 and later staying at a relative’s house because the slaying was “all over the news,” according to the affidavit.

Police said he also sent Montanez’s mugshot to a friend.

Authorities also recovered a video of Cardenas trying to sell a 9mm Glock 19 for $450 on January 26. Police had previously recovered a 9 mm shell casing at the parking garage where Pintucci was shot.

Cardenas remained in custody, with bail set at $500,000.

Meanwhile, Montanez, who has not been indicted, posted bond in February. He was placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring. However, in October, a judge allowed him to leave his home to work, court records show.

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