An Edinburg man who had been on the run for five years pleaded not guilty Wednesday in connection to a 2021 murder, Hidalgo County court records show.

Jorge Havier Vasquez was arrested in September 2025 during a traffic stop in Hidalgo County, according to a previous report. He was identified as the murder suspect in the death of 27-year-old Santana Tapia Jaimes, according to a news release.

According to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Tapia Jaimes’ body was found in March 2021 in trash bags and left inside a vehicle at a car dealership in rural Edinburg.

Tapia Jaimes’ body had a gunshot wound to the chest, the news release noted. An affidavit obtained by Channel 5 News said witnesses identified Vasquez as the shooter.

An investigation revealed that the murder occurred on March 6, 2021, near FM 1925 and Orange Street in rural Edinburg. The victim was sitting in a dark-colored Dodge Ram truck with another person identified as Alejandro Valdez Resendez when the murder occurred, according to the sheriff's office.

Resendez was an employee at the same dealership where the victim’s body was found, the news release added.

“Investigators were informed that after the shooting, Vasquez washed Tapia’s blood off his hands,” the news release said. “Investigators were able to locate Resendez’s Dodge Ram truck, which had a large amount of blood on the passenger seat.”

Resendez fled to Mexico after disposing the body, according to the news release, and an active arrest warrant for him remains pending.

Vasquez remains jailed on a bond of more than $1 million. Court records show his next court appearance is set for March 2, 2026.