Juan Cazares Jr., 42, of 903 E. George in Stanton, was found dead in a room at the West Wind Motel early Friday morning, according to Billy Johnson, justice of the peace for Midland's Precinct 3.

“He was pronounced dead at 4:55 a.m. Friday,” said Johnson. “As far as a cause of death is concerned, that won't be made until toxicology reports and the full autopsy are completed.”

According to officials with 118th District Court, Cazares was indicted April 7 by a Martin County grand jury on one count of indecency with a child and two counts of sexual assault of a child — all second degree felonies.

“The offense dates were never very solid, but we believe they occurred over a period of time beginning as early as 2005,” said Robin Orr, assistant district attorney for the area. “The victim was a female under the age of 17 years and was known to Cazares. Other than that, I really can't go into any more detail.”

Orr said the sexual offenses happened at a home within the Stanton city limits.

“We were notified of Mr. Cazares' death Friday morning,” said Orr. “As far as the prosecution goes, everything basically stops now. Without the defendant, there isn't a case to prosecute.”

The death is being investigated by the Midland Police Department, with Det. Bill Anderson heading up the effort, according to Johnson. Anderson could not be reached for comment in time for press.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it