Veteran US border patrol supervisor caught for alleged murder of 4 women
A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent and supervisor has been arrested in the state of Texas on suspicion of murdering four women and kidnapping another.
Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar announced at a Saturday news conference that Texas authorities had taken into custody Juan David Ortiz, a 10-year veteran supervisor of US Border Patrol whose escape prompted a manhunt that led to his detention, earlier in the day.
According to the reports, Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz further explained that police officers were able to hunt down Ortiz after a woman he allegedly abducted tried to escape. Ortiz was eventually captured in the parking lot of a hotel in Laredo, Texas, after fleeing from state troopers.
Alaniz was also cited by the local press as saying that Ortiz will face four murder charges and one count of aggravated kidnapping.
"We want to reassure the citizens of Laredo that the community and your families are safe," said Laredo Police Department in a statement released Saturday afternoon as cited in the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
"There has been a recent breakthrough in the investigations and there has been someone detained,” the statement pointed out, adding: “That information belongs to the corresponding agencies who are handling the information and will make a more in depth release at the appropriate time. We value the release of timely information and we are making this notice public in order to remove any unnecessary fear in the community.”
This is while CBP spokesman Andrew Meehan expressed condolences to the victims' family and friends in a statement, but refused to elaborate on circumstances of the murders saying the agency could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
“While it is CBP policy to not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, criminal action by our employees is not, and will not be tolerated," Meehan noted. "Out of respect to the victims’ family and friends, we ask that deference and due process be given to the investigation so that all the facts are brought to light and they can receive the closure they deserve.”
The development comes as US border control agents along the countries southern border with Mexico have widely been accused of abusing and even shooting to death Central American migrants fleeing gang-violence and poverty and attempting to illegally slip across the US border.
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