Florida
Suspect arrested in connection to broad daylight kidnapping, murder of Florida driver
The man who police believe carried out the brazen broad daylight kidnapping of a Florida woman who was found dead in her burned vehicle has been arrested, authorities announced.
Jordanish Torres-Garcia, 28, was taken into custody on unrelated charges Friday, and police suspect he’s the masked gunman who jumped into 31-year-old Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas’s SUV at a busy intersection last week.
Although the gunman was wearing a Halloween mask, police said the sweatshirt he was wearing was “identical” to the one Torres-Garcia was seen wearing in his Facebook profile picture.
He was also linked to the Green Acura that repeatedly rammed into Guerrero De Aguasvivas and followed her for at least half a mile — prompting her to make a frantic call to her husband, who instructed her not to stop but mysteriously did not call 911.
Guerrero De Aguasvivas’s body was found several hours later at a construction site — inside her burning SUV and surrounded by shell casings.
Why Torres-Garcia, who is wanted in Puerto Rico on gun charges, was allegedly after Guerrero De Aguasvivas is still a mystery.
“We have not made the connection yet with Jordanish as far as this. So to answer the question of why, if this is our shooter, why he would target her? I can’t answer that question yet,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said at a press conference.
Police on Friday also named Giovany Crespo Hernandez as a person of interest in the case after identifying him as the person Guerrero De Aguasvivas Facetimed as she drove through downtown Orlando, shortly before her murder.
Hernandez had allegedly told Guerrero De Aguasvivas’s brother that she was in the area — which was more than three hours from her South Florida home — to deliver money and “other stuff to a friend.”
Investigators found fentanyl and firearms during a raid of his home, but Hernandez is on the lam, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said at a press conference Friday.
Hernandez’s girlfriend was taken into custody Friday after she accepted a delivery of 3 kilos of cocaine orchestrated by Homeland Security Investigations.
Police said they are on the hunt for two others wanted in connection to the case, including the person who drove the Acura and taunted Guerrero De Aguasvivas before her abduction.
The terrifying kidnapping was caught on camera by a witness when Guerrero De Aguasvivas was forced to stop at a red light.
That’s when a man is seen running out of the green car toward Guerrero De Aguasvias’s driver-side window, the video shows.
He then stuck a firearm through the window before climbing into her backseat.
Guerrero De Aguasvias’ car then peeled away from the intersection under the direction of her captor, police said, and toward her certain death.
“The perpetrators knew who they were going after,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.
According to police, Guerrero De Aguasvivas’ husband is not a suspect in the case despite his involvement in criminal information leaking.
Orange County Deputy Francisco Estrella, a family friend of Miguel Aguasvivas, is accused of providing him with details of the investigation, including the lead detective’s home address.
There are still various unknowns in the baffling case, including why Guerrero De Aguasvivas was driving so far from home, why she didn’t call 911 and why Miguel could be holding onto some secrets, as police suspect.
“I think the initial story was that she was up here to visit family members. I don’t know that we believe that,” Lemma said.
“I think that there’s a lot more blanks that he could help fill in about the circumstances involving this particular crime and now potentially other crimes.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers square off for the second time in five days on Tuesday, going head-to-head at Lenovo Center.
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When: Tuesday, Dec. 23
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network App | Learn More
Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App
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Canes Record: 22-10-3 (47 Points, 1st – Metropolitan Division)
Canes Last Game: 6-4 Loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, Dec. 20
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Panthers Record: 19-14-2 (40 Points, T-5th – Atlantic Division)
Panthers Last Game: 6-2 Loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Dec. 20
Florida football will be hiring Joe Craddock as its next quarterbacks coach, according to a report by Swamp247.
The move adds a veteran offensive mind with extensive play-calling and quarterback-development experience under Jon Sumrall’s first staff with the Gators.
Craddock comes to Gainesville after spending the past two seasons with Tulane, where he served as the Green Wave’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Prior to that, he held the same role at Troy.
At Troy, Craddock’s offenses consistently ranked near the top of the Sun Belt across multiple statistical categories, combining downfield passing efficiency with a balanced run game.
Before his time at Troy and Tulane, Craddock built a resume that includes offensive coordinator stops at UAB, Arkansas and SMU, along with earlier developmental roles at Clemson.
Craddock’s coaching career began after a playing stint at Middle Tennessee, followed by professional experience overseas before transitioning into coaching at the high school level and quickly rising through the college ranks.
With the Orange and Blue, Craddock is expected to work closely with the Gators’ signal-callers as the program looks to establish consistency and development at the position under Sumrall.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Florida attorney, nephew missing in Gulf after fishing trip
A Fort Myers attorney, Randall Spivey, 57, and his 33-year-old nephew, Brandon Billmaier, were reported missing after a fishing trip off the coast of Naples.
The search for the 57-year-old Fort Myers attorney and his 33-year-old nephew continued late Sunday after the pair was reported missing Dec. 19 after a fishing trip off the coast of Naples.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported it would continue the search overnight.
A new grid search by volunteer searchers was expected to start Monday morning, Dec. 22, 70 miles east of Naples, family members reported on Facebook.
“USCG crews and partner agencies are continuing the search through the night by air and by sea,” the Coast Guard posted on X at 8:34 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21.
The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the search along with partner agencies to find attorney Randall Spivey and his nephew Brandon Billmaier, who were reported missing at about 9 p.m. Friday. The boat they’d been using for their trip had been scheduled to return at about sunset.
The pair went out in a 42-foot Freeman boat named “Unstopp-A-Bull,” according to Luis Garcia, the supervisor on watch for the Coast Guard sector in St. Petersburg. The Coast Guard found the boat floating upright in the Gulf about 70 miles off the coast of Naples, with no signs of the missing boaters.
Now, one of the largest searches in Southwest Florida history is underway, with a large community effort behind it.
Were the missing Florida boaters from Fort Myers found? Boater’s wife provides updates
As of late Sunday, Dec. 21, Spivey and Billmaier, the Florida boaters reported missing Dec. 19 after a fishing trip off the coast of Naples, had not been found, according to Billmaier’s wife, Deborah.
Deborah and other family members of the missing men continued to ask for prayers and for volunteers to help search.
“We are asking for vessels capable of a 225-mile range to assist in a major offshore search,” Deborah Billmaier said in a Facebook post.
“Thank you to all the local heroes who are working to bring my husband Brandon and uncle Randy home,” her post said. “They have not yet been found, but we are staying positive.”
To volunteer in the offshore seach for the missing boaters:
Deborah Billmore’s Facebook post asked volunteer searchers to text to Paul at 239-634-3400:
- Departure location
- Vessel name
- Captains name and cell number
- First mate’s name and cell number
- Vessel range
She said vessels will depart from their own location (ranging from Fort Myers to Marco Island) and search grids would be assigned after updated information is received at 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 22.
‘Still not sure exactly what occurred’
Deborah Billmaier had posted earlier Sunday:
“Updates after speaking with the U.S. Coast Guard this morning,” Deborah Billmaier wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “The EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) was unfortunately still on the boat. They were bottom fishing when the incident occurred (still not sure exactly what occurred.)”
The post also mentioned that a couple of life jackets were not found on the boat, indicating that Spivey and Billmaier may be wearing them.
Who is involved in the Florida missing boaters search?
The U.S. Coast Guard sector in St. Petersburg posted news of the search on social media Saturday morning, Dec. 20.
According to the Facebook post, air and surface crews from the agency and partner agencies U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami and Lee County Sheriff’s Office are involved in the search.
“The search effort support features an 87-foot boat on water, 45-foot boat, 60-foot helicopter, 144 plane, 6130 Air Force from Patrick Air Force Base and an 144 continuing through the day (not sure if this is a boat or a plane),” Deborah Billmaier wrote in her post the following morning.
An urgent marine broadcast has also been issued to all vessels in the area to help expand the search range, said Billmaier.
Community steps in to help in missing boater search in Florida
The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated one of the largest search parties in Southwest Florida history Sunday morning, Dec. 21, starting at first light, according to Deborah Billmaier.
Florida Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman shared the post on X.
Erin Shaw Harrel of Facebook group SWFL Boaters urged people Saturday to take to the water to search for the missing boaters, providing these coordinates for the search: 25-51.67N 083-12.16W.
Brent Stokes, owner of Stokes Marine, also asked for volunteers to help search.
According to Stokes, anyone willing to help with the search could call Tricia Spivey at 239-896-4099 or the U.S. Coast Guard at 727-322-4180.
Capt. Corrie Sergent of the Coast Guard’s Sector St. Petersburg posted on X Sunday morning, Dec. 21, noting crews were “pursuing all leads and saturating the (search) area.”
“Thank you to this amazing community for their support,’ Sergent said in the tweet.
Who are Randall Spivey, Brandon Billmaier ? Florida attorney and nephew missing off Fort Myers
Attorney Randall Spivey, 57, and his 33-year-old nephew Brandon Billmaier were reported missing at about 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19.
Tricia Spivey reported her husband and nephew missing Friday night, said Luis Garcia, supervisor on watch for the Coast Guard sector in St. Petersburg. “They were going to fish about 102 miles offshore.”
Spivey is a white male, 6’1”, 245lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing khaki pants and a dark in color shirt, according to Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Billmaier is a white male, 6’2”, 250lbs, with strawberry hair and brown eyes.
Where was the boat of the missing fisherman found?
The pair went out in a 42-foot Freeman boat named “Unstopp-A-Bull,” Garcia said. The Coast Guard later found the boat floating upright in the Gulf about 70 miles off the coast of Naples, but no signs of the missing boaters.
Tricia Spivey says GPS coordinates from the boat’s spot tracker led them to that location near Marco Island and Flamingo. That’s where the search has been concentrated.
Where to call with information, help with search for missing Florida boaters
The Coast Coast asked anyone with pertinent information to contact the agency’s St. Petersburg sector at 866-881-1392.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office also requested the public’s help in locating Spivey and Billmaier.
If anyone knows about the pair’s whereabouts, they can call 911, if applicable, or call the sheriff’s office at 477-1000. To remain anonymous, you can also call SWFL Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
Contributing: Cindy McCurry-Ross
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