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.”