A deadly carjacking, the death of a tow truck driver and the arrest of a deputy are all likely connected, according to investigators looking into the homicide of a Florida woman.
The developments in the case of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, of Homestead were announced during a press conference yesterday afternoon by Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma.
Lemma announced that the green Acura seen in footage of the armed carjacking from Thursday in Winter Springs, was located on Saturday.
“The car has been out on the streets, probably since February, unregistered, undocumented with a license plate.” Sheriff Lemma said. “Any license plate that it had on it at any given time was just temporarily put on largely from a stolen tag.”
SUSPECTS ON LOOSE AFTER CARJACKING CAUGHT ON VIDEO, WOMAN’S REMAINS FOUND IN BURNED SUV
The suspected vehicle was caught on camera by a witness who recorded video during the carjacking. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
That car had been towed from an apartment complex in Orange County on March 19 for being illegally parked, Lemma said. The tow truck driver, Juan Luis Cintron Garcia, was shot and killed in Taft – located near Orlando – one day prior to Aguasvivas’ kidnapping and death. The suspect’s vehicle from the April 10 murder scene matched the description of the green Acura, and more than 100 rounds were found to have been fired at the location, with one of the types being what Lemma called “incredibly unique” 10mm rounds, similar to ones observed where Aguasvivas’s vehicle was located.
Aguasvivas’s vehicle, a 2017 white Dodge Durango, was found burned in Osceola County with a body inside that has still not been confirmed to be hers by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Despite the lack of identification, she is believed to be dead, and Lemma said she was “targeted” by the suspects who carjacked her.
Lemma noted that the suspects are still at large, and that Aguasvivas’s husband is not a person of interest or a suspect. He said, however, that while the husband has been cooperating with authorities during their investigation, he thinks the man is holding back information.
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Seminole County Sheriff’s Office believes Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was driving the Dodge Durango during the carjacking. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
In another wrinkle in the case, OCSO deputy Francisco Alberto Estrella Chicon, 33, was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday after he allegedly used law enforcement resources to contact one of the detectives investigating the death of De Aguasvivas, and relaying information – including the name, address and phone number of the detective in charge – to the woman’s husband and brother.
Video shared by a witness shows one of the suspects with a rifle on the driver’s side of the 2017 white Dodge Durango. (Video released by Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
The deputy is now facing charges including disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and accessing computer or electronic devices without authorization or exceeding authorization.