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Carjacking was conspiracy over drug money: Feds
A grand jury has handed down indictments for four men accused of taking part in a deadly carjacking and kidnapping plot in Central Florida back in April. FOX 35 has obtained new federal documents that detail what happened to Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas on the day of her death.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was killed in a carjacking incident in Winter Springs in April in a case that's gained national attention. Throughout the investigation, law enforcement have made significant developments, including several arrests and even brought forth federal charges against who they think is responsible.
The 31-year-old woman from Homestead was driving from South to Central Florida on April 11 when she was carjacked at gunpoint at a Winter Springs intersection, an incident that was caught on witness video in broad daylight and has since gone viral.
Throughout the investigation by both local authorities and the feds, four people have been indicted by a grand jury for the carjacking incident:
- Jordanish Torres Garcia, 28
- Kevin Ocasio Justiniano, 27
- Giovany Crespo Hernandez, 27
- Dereck Alexis Rodriguez Bonilla, 21
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was carjacked on April 11, 2024 in Winter Springs, Florida. A witness caught the incident on video. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
The U.S. has filed a motion to keep these four suspects, who are all from Orlando, in detention ahead of their respective trials. That motion was filed on June 6 in the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida, a new document that was obtained by FOX 35.
"The government submits that each defendant poses a significant risk of flight and a grave danger to this community if released," the documents said.
That update came nearly two months after Guerrero De Aguasvivas' body and SUV were found shot and torched in Osceola County.
While four people have been charged in the actual carjacking, two others have been arrested for unrelated charges. There's also another victim that's linked to the carjacking incident, a tow truck driver who was shot in an Orange County neighborhood the day before Guerrero De Aguasvivas' death. His name was Juan Luis Cintron-Garcia.
Here's a look at everyone allegedly involved in the deadly Winter Springs carjacking and subsequent investigation so far:
This story was updated on June 7, 2024
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas: The carjacking victim
Guerrero De Aguasvivas is the 31-year-old victim in the deadly carjacking incident from April 11. She's from Homestead, a city in Miami-Dade County that's about 40 miles south of Miami.
On the day of the carjacking, she was reportedly driving from South Florida to Central Florida. FOX 35 obtained federal documents from the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida which reveal why the woman was on her way north that were previously unknown during the investigation.
It was first believed that Guerrero De Aguasvivas was on her way to the Casselberry home of Crespo Hernandez to "deliver money and other stuff," according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. That was a detail provided to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office by Guerrero De Aguasvivas' brother.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, was carjacked on April 11, 2024 in Winter Springs, Florida. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
Crespo Hernandez was named a suspect early on in the investigation, since he's the last person law enforcement believes spoke to Guerrero De Aguasvivas on the day she died. Ultimately, he was indicted in the carjacking.
Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband also told law enforcement that she was supposed to be visiting family in the area, but early on in the investigation, no family members were found. Later on, detectives said they made contact with two of her relatives in the area, but they said they weren't expecting her.
The new federal documents revealed that Guerrero De Aguasvivas was on her way to Crespo Hernandez's home in Casselberry to retrieve $170,000 of apparent illegal drug trafficking proceeds. She was targeted for this money, the documents allege. Crespo Hernandez called up Torres Garcia – who was the first person to be federally charged for the carjacking – to allegedly conspire to rob and carjack Guerrero De Aguasvivas after she got the money from Crespo Hernandez's house.
No other details about Guerrero De Aguasvivas' alleged involvement in Crespo Hernandez's "drug distribution business" were revealed in these documents.
The new documents also provided insight into how Guerrero De Aguasivas died on April 11.
After the carjacking in broad daylight, she was ordered – at gunpoint – to follow a green Acura to the Boggy Creek area of Kissimmee, the documents said. That car was being driven by Ocasio Justiniano, another suspect who was indicted in the carjacking, according to the feds.
When they arrived at a deserted construction area in Kissimmee, lighter fluid was poured on the woman's body and she and her Dodge Durango SUV were shot multiple times before being lit on fire, according to the documents. It remains unclear at this time if Guerrero De Aguasvivas was alive at this point.
She was reportedly shot with a 10mm gun that Ocasio Justiniano allegedly got from Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla, who denied these allegations.
Jordanish Torres Garcia: The alleged carjacker
Federal charges:
- Carjacking resulting in death
- Kidnapping
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime resulting in death
Torres Garcia was the first person to be federally charged for the carjacking death of Guerrero De Aguasvivas.
He was first linked to the carjacking when law enforcement discovered he had a connection to the purchase of the green Acura that was reportedly following and bumping into Guerrero De Aguasvivas' car before the carjacking. Newly obtained documents allege that Torres Garcia was brought into the "conspiracy" to rob and carjack Guerrero De Aguasvivas by Crespo Hernandez.
Torres Garcia admitted to law enforcement that he was the suspect who got out of the green Acura to carjack Guererro De Aguasvivas on April 11, according to a federal affidavit obtained by FOX 35. Before these documents were released, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said he was "confident" the alleged carjacker was Torres Garcia.
Jordanish Torres Garcia was federally charged with carjacking resulting in death. The charges came after he was arrested on an unrelated warrant from a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
His phone number matched the number of the person who bought the car, and in his Facebook profile picture – connected to the account he used to buy the Acura on Facebook Marketplace – he was wearing the same outfit as the one used in the alleged carjacking, according to Sheriff Lemma. His phone number was also linked to a previous Orange County burglary report.
He was arrested April 19 on a warrant for a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. He was held in custody in Seminole County when the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida tacked on a federal charge of carjacking resulting in death.
Jordanish Torres Garcia was arrested on a warrant from a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
The federal affidavit revealed that Torres Garcia met with an unidentified subject 30 minutes before the carjacking, where he received the AR-15 that was used in the alleged crime. He said he was paid $1,500 to take Guerrero De Aguasvivas and "deliver her to another individual," the affidavit said. It remains unclear at this time to whom or to where she was supposed to be taken.
Torres Garcia also allegedly recruited Ocasio Justiniano and Rodriguez Bonilla into the "conspiracy" to rob and carjack Guerrero De Aguasvivas. On the day of her death, Torres Garcia and Ocasio Justiniano were spotted on surveillance footage buying lighter fluid from a gas station, according to federal documents.
When Guerrero De Aguasvivas arrived at Crespo Hernandez's house to retrieve $170,000, Torres Garcia and Ocasio Justiniano were parked nearby in the green Acura, the documents added.
After allegedly carjacking her, investigators said Torres Garcia held Guerrero De Aguasvivas at gunpoint on the hour-long drive to Kissimmee, where her body was eventually found.
(Photo: Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida)
Torres Garcia has since made a couple of court appearances. In his first appearance in late April, a judge ordered him to stay in the U.S. because of the deadly carjacking case, even though he has a warrant out for his arrest in Puerto Rico.
Jordanish Torres-Garcia made his first appearance in court on April 25, 2024 for a probable cause hearing. He has been charged federally with carjacking resulting in death. (Photo: Nef Melendez)
At the end of May, he made an appearance in federal court and had his charges read to him. He answered the judge through a translator and pleaded not guilty.
He's due back in court on June 20 for a status hearing and again on July 1, but these dates could change.
Torres Garcia is also linked to the shooting death of Cintron-Carcia, the tow truck driver who was shot and killed the day before Guerrero De Aguasvivas' was carjacked, the new documents said. Investigators said Torres Garcia was one of two armed men who shot at Cintron-Garcia multiple times. The other man's identity has not been revealed at this time.
Kevin Ocasio Justiniano: The alleged green Acura driver
Federal charges:
- Carjacking resulting in death
- Kidnapping
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime resulting in death
Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was arrested in April by the U.S. Marshals in Puerto Rico for charges unrelated to the carjacking, including possession of an automatic weapon and drug trafficking, officials said. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement said he would be extradited to Central Florida to face federal charges in the Middle District of Florida for the carjacking. FOX 35 is working to get an update on his case.
Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Puerto Rico on April 22, 2024. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
Ocasio Justiniano was linked to the investigation through a red Toyota Corolla that was seen in the same apartment complex the green Acura was found abandoned at after the carjacking, Sheriff Lemma said. Surveillance video showed the Corolla arriving to the apartment complex to pick up the occupants of the green Acura, who appeared to be cleaning up the car and wiping it down.
(Photo: Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida)
A records check of the Corolla came back to a relative of Ocasio Justiniano, officials said.
Additionally, records put Ocasio Justiniano at the scene of the carjacking and Sheriff Lemma said he believes Justiniano was the driver of the green Acura at the time of the carjacking. To be more specific, cell phone location data showed Ocasio Justiniano and Torres Garcia were parked at Crespo Hernandez's house when Guerrero De Aguasvivas arrived to retrieve the $170,000, new federal documents said.
The documents also allege that Ocasio Justiniano was recruited by Torres Garcia to participate in the carjacking. On the day of Guerrero De Aguasvivas' death, investigators said they obtained surveillance footage from a gas station that showed both Ocasio Justiniano and Torres Garcia buying lighter fluid. This lighter fluid would eventually be poured on Guerrero De Aguasvivas' body in the moments before her death, the documents said.
(Photo: Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida)
The documents also said that Torres Garcia and Ocasio Justiniano "perpetrated" the carjacking, which means they allegedly carried out the crime.
When Guerrero De Aguasvivas was led to the Boggy Creek area of Kissimmee, where her body was eventually found, Ocasio Justiniano allegedly obtained a 10mm gun from Rodriguez Bonilla, investigators said. That gun was used to kill Guerrero De Aguasvivas, the documents said.
Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez: The last person Katherine reportedly spoke to, alleged ringleader behind ‘conspiracy’
Federal charges:
- Carjacking resulting in death
- Kidnapping
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime resulting in death
Early on in the investigation, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office regarded Crespo Hernandez as a person of interest due to the fact that he was the last person to speak to Guerrero De Aguasvivas on the day of her carjacking and death. Now, new federal documents reveal that it was his idea to carjack and rob the woman in the first place. He has been charged for this alleged act, despite local law enforcement's initial findings.
Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez was taken into custody in Seminole County on April 22, 2024. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
Crespo Hernandez was brought into the equation by Guerrero De Aguasvivas' brother, Luis.
Luis, who said he was conducting an investigation of his own, was able to access his sister's iCloud and subsequent call records, which revealed a FaceTime call to an unknown number, Sheriff Lemma said. He called that number and spoke to Crespo Hernandez – and then provided a screenshot of his face to law enforcement.
A search warrant was executed on Crespo Hernandez's home in Casselberry, which yielded the discovery of fentanyl, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, nearly $14,000 in cash, drug packaging materials, two guns, magazines, ammunition and ski masks, according to an arrest affidavit.
Crespo Hernandez was taken into custody on April 22 on these drug charges.
About a month later, those state drug charges were dropped and he was instead charged federally. He was also indicted by a grand jury for the carjacking of Guerrero De Aguasvivas.
Guerrero De Aguasvivas was on her way from South Florida to Crespo Hernandez's home in Casselberry, investigators determined. She was heading up there to retrieve $170,000 of apparent illegal drug trafficking proceeds, new federal documents allege.
"Crespo Hernandez was engaged in the drug distribution business," the documents said.
Crespo Hernandez allegedly hatched a plan and recruited Torres Garcia to "rob and carjack" Guerrero De Aguasvivas for the $170,000 after she had gotten it from him, the documents said.
Dereck Alexis Rodriguez Bonilla: The 4th previously unknown carjacking suspect
Federal charges:
- Carjacking resulting in death
- Kidnapping
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime resulting in death
Rodriguez Bonilla was introduced to this case in newly obtained federal documents filed on June 6. He was previously unknown to the investigation up until this point.
Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla was indicted for carjacking resulting in death on June 6, 2024. (Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
He was recruited into the alleged conspiracy to carjack and rob Guerrero De Aguasvivas by Torres Garcia, the documents said.
On the day of the carjacking, Rodriguez Bonilla allegedly provided a 10mm firearm – what feds call the "murder weapon" – to Ocasio Justiniano. Investigators said this was the gun that was used to kill both Guerrero De Aguasvivas and Cintron-Garcia, the tow truck driver.
In a post-Miranda interview with investigators, Rodriguez Bonilla said he did meet up with Torres Garcia on the day of the carjacking, but was only there to loan him $80, not provide the murder weapon, the documents said.
Surveillance video at an apartment complex in Orlando shows Torres Garcia giving cash to Rodriguez Bonilla, but he said it was what was owed to him from the loan minutes prior, the documents added. Additionally, Rodriguez Bonilla was wearing a ski mask in this video, but he told investigators that's because he was "contemplating a ride on his dirt bike that day."
Monicsabel Romero-Soto: Giovany's girlfriend
Romero-Soto was also arrested and charged federally by Homeland Security investigators after she accepted a large amount of cocaine, according to Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma. She was arrested for trafficking in cocaine (28 grams or more), records show.
She lived in the Casselberry home with her boyfriend, Joel Crespo Hernandez.
Monicsabel Romero-Soto, the live-in girlfriend of Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez, was arrested and charged with trafficking in cocaine. (Photo: Osceola County Jail)
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said the two live together, and an affidavit further revealed that another person with the same last name as Romero-Soto lives at the home with them alongside an infant and an adolescent.
Romero-Soto has not, nor has she ever, been considered a person of interest in the death of Guerrero De Aguasvivas, and she has not been charged by law enforcement related to the carjacking.
Francisco Estrella Chicon: The Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy
An Orange County Sheriff's Deputy was arrested on April 14 by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office after he allegedly used law enforcement resources to gain information about the carjacking case.
Estrella Chicon, 33, was arrested on the following charges and has since bonded out of jail:
- Interception of wire, oral, or electronic communication
- Disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communication
- Disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information
- Unlawful use of a two-way communication device
- Accessing computer or electronic devices without authorization or exceeding authorization
The Orange County Sheriff's Office hired him in September 2022. Pending the outcome of the investigation, he has been relieved of all duties, including pay.
Orange County deputy Francisco Alberto Estrella Chicon was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office after he allegedly impersonated a high-ranking detective to gain information about the carjacking case. He has since bonded out of jail.
"These are very serious criminal allegations. It is completely unacceptable for any law enforcement officer to misuse the power and authority of their job," said Orange County Sheriff John Mina. "At the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, we hold our deputies to the highest ethical standards, and we will not tolerate anyone breaking the law within our ranks."
Estrella Chicon's wife is reportedly childhood friends with Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband and brother, according to Sheriff Lemma.
As Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband and brother made their way to Seminole County after hearing the news of her death, one of them contacted Estrella Chicon's wife and asked them to get information about the Seminole County detective in charge of the case, according to Sheriff Lemma.
Estrella Chicon allegedly searched the detective's home address, phone number, and other information – and then sent it to the husband and brother.
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Florida deputy Estrella Chicon bonds out of jail
An Orange County sheriff's deputy who has been held in jail since Sunday was granted bond by a judge on Thursday afternoon and released from jail shortly before 10 p.m.
"The deputy then picks up the phone, calls our detective, and gives a false name, and identified himself as a detective with the Orange County Sheriff's Office wanting to get information on this case," Sheriff Lemma said.
Seminole County detectives discovered these communications while searching Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband's cell phone, which was provided willingly.
Sheriff Lemma said no other charges are expected to be brought forth against Estrella Chicon, but the investigation remains open and ongoing.
He entered a plea of not guilty in court on April 15, and also waived his appearance in court on June 3. His next court date is scheduled for June 26.
Luis: Katherine's brother
Guerrero De Aguasvivas' brother Luis opened an investigation of his own related to the carjacking and death of his sister, according to Sheriff Lemma.
It was Luis who alerted law enforcement to the existence of Crespo Hernandez, whose phone number he found on his late sister's iCloud and FaceTime call log. Luis reportedly called Crespo Hernandez himself, took a screenshot of the call and sent it to law enforcement.
This screenshot, which was eventually used to identify Crespo Hernandez, was actually cropped and altered, Sheriff Lemma said. Luis had sent law enforcement a cropped version that didn't include himself on the FaceTime call, Sheriff Lemma added.
At the beginning of the investigation, Sheriff Lemma said Luis was being cooperative. That changed in mid April, however, when Sheriff Lemma said he's only appearing to be cooperative, but is actually telling lies to law enforcement. Sheriff Lemma added that detectives have "crossed him up in multiple lies."
Luis has not, nor has he ever, been considered a person of interest in the death of Guerrero De Aguasvivas, and he has not been charged by law enforcement related to this case.
Miguel: Katherine's husband
Guerrero De Aguasvivas called her husband Miguel when she noticed she was being followed by a green Acura in the moments leading up to the carjacking on April 11, according to Sheriff Lemma.
The husband told her not to stop anywhere and to continue driving.
Sheriff Lemma said there are no known reports to law enforcement made by either Guerrero De Aguasvivas or her husband about this incident.
"We do feel and believe – because she was being followed, they were watching that, she called her husband, husband said ‘don’t leave the car,' no reports to law enforcement – that this was not a random act of violence, that the perpetrators knew exactly who they were going after," Sheriff Lemma said during a press conference.
Miguel told investigators early on in the investigation that his wife was driving up from South to Central Florida to visit family. After first saying they couldn't find any family members in the area, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said they were able to locate two – but they said they weren't expecting her arrival.
In his latest update, Sheriff Lemma said Miguel is no longer being cooperative with the investigation.
Miguel has not, nor has he ever, been considered a person of interest in the death of Guerrero De Aguasvivas, and he has not been charged by law enforcement related to this case.
Juan Luis Cintron-Garcia: The late tow truck driver
Cintron-Garcia is a tow truck driver who was shot and killed outside his home in Taft on April 10, the day before Guerrero De Aguasvivas was carjacked, officials said.
Juan Luis Cintron-Garcia was a tow truck driver who was shot and killed on April 10 in the Taft neighborhood of Orange County. (Photo: Kristy Garcia)
Early on in the investigation, it was unclear if there was a link between the two shootings, but now it has been determined that the link is both the gun used in the shooting and the green Acura. That's according to new federal documents recently obtained.
Cintron-Garcia towed the green Acura on March 19.
This green Acura is one of three in the state of Florida, which made it easy for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office to identify it. It was seen driving behind Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas' vehicle in Winter Springs on April 11. (Phot …
About a month later – on April 10, the day before Guerrero De Aguasvivas was carjacked and killed – Cintron-Garcia returned to his home in Taft and got out of his truck, where a green Acura stopped in the street near his driveway, the documents said. That's when two men, one of which was Torres Garcia, allegedly shot Cintron-Garcia multiple times, causing his death. Over 100 rounds were fired at him and his home. His family was inside.
The gun used to kill Cintron-Garcia was the same gun used to kill Katherine, according to the documents.
"After the shooting, one of the assailants was observed retrieving something from (Cintron-Garcia's) truck before fleeing in the green Acura," the documents said.
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Tow truck driver killed in Taft shooting
A tow truck driver who was killed in a deadly shooting last week is being remembered by family and friends.
What was grabbed and the identity of the second gunman was not revealed in the federal documents.
A service in Cintron-Garcia's memory was held earlier in April. Loved ones said he leaves behind a legacy of "kindness," "love" and "passion."
"I would wake up every morning and go for my jog; he would always be the first to say hello," said Shirley Montana, a neighbor.
A GoFundMe page has been established to assist the family with expenses.