The vehicle driven by the attackers in the carjacking and slaying of a woman in Seminole County, Florida, is connected to the killing of a tow truck driver, authorities said.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said investigators found the green Acura that followed Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, before she was carjacked at an Orange County apartment complex over the weekend.
The vehicle had been “parked and abandoned,” Lemma said at a news conference Monday. It was towed and taken to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to be evaluated for evidence.
Investigators are searching for the people who were in the Acura but were able to uncover details about it. Lemma told reporters that after a series of sales, he believes the car had been on the streets since February unregistered and that any license plate it had would have been stolen.
On March 19, before the deadly carjacking, the vehicle was towed from an Orlando apartment complex because it was illegally parked, Lemma said.
Investigators learned that the driver of the truck that towed the Acura, Juan Luis Cintron Garcia, 39, was killed about a month later, on April 10.
Lemma said that Garcia had been shot and that more than 100 rounds were found at the scene, as well as a green vehicle matching the description of the Acura.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Garcia’s death is under investigation.
“We are still in the early stages of this open and active murder investigation, but we can tell you that this was not a random act and that detectives believe Mr. Cintron Garcia was targeted,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We have no suspect or motive information.”
Lemma said he “absolutely” believes the deaths of Garcia and De Aguasvivas are connected.
“But we’ll have to have physical evidence that absolutely proves that,” he told reporters Monday.
Cellphone video from Thursday captured the Acura behind De Aguasvivas’ white Dodge Durango at a red light in Seminole County. The video showed a gunman force his way into the backseat of her vehicle. She drove away once the light turned green, and the Acura followed.
Lemma said the gunman was wearing a black hoodie and a “ski-type of mask” and carrying what appeared to be an automatic handgun. He said that it was not a random incident and that the attackers “knew exactly who they were following.”
An SUV so badly burned that “you could not positively identify the vehicle” was found in a construction area about two hours after the carjacking, Lemma said. A body authorities believed to be De Aguasvivas’ was found inside, according to Lemma, who said DNA and dental records were needed to confirm the identity.
Twelve shell casings were also found at the scene.
Moments before the carjacking, De Aguasvivas had called her husband to tell him that someone had rammed the back of her vehicle and was following her. Her husband told her not to stop anywhere, but neither called 911, Lemma has said.
He said the husband is cooperating with the investigation but accused him of withholding information. The husband had told detectives that his wife, of Homestead in Miami-Dade County, was in Seminole County to visit family members.
“You don’t have your wife communicate with you that you’re getting rammed by a car and go two hours without calling anybody,” Lemma said at the news conference Monday. “So he has cooperated; he has provided information. I think the initial story was she was up here to visit family members. I don’t know that we believe that. … I think there’s a lot more blanks he could help fill in.”
The husband is not a person of interest or a suspect, Lemma said.
In another twist, an Orange County sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with five felonies and accused of leaking information about the case to De Aguasvivas’ husband.
The deputy, Francisco Estrella, is accused of providing the man with details about the Seminole County investigation, as well as the lead detective’s home address. Lemma said Estrella’s wife is a family friend of De Aguasvivas’ husband.
Estrella was charged with obstructing a criminal investigation, illegal disclosure of communication, accessing an electronic device without authorization, using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony and eavesdropping.
A call to a number listed for Estrella was not answered Tuesday afternoon, and it was not clear whether he had an attorney.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said he has been relieved of all law enforcement duties without pay pending an investigation.
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