A man who police believe kidnapped a Florida woman in broad daylight and whose body was found inside a burning car has been arrested, police said.
Torres Garcia, 28, a Jordanian man, was taken into custody Friday on unrelated charges after police say he jumped into the SUV of Catherine Altagracia Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas, 31, at a busy intersection last week. They suspect that he was a masked gunman.
The gunman was wearing a Halloween mask, but police said the sweatshirt he was wearing was “identical” to the one Torres-Garcia was wearing in her Facebook profile photo.
He is also associated with a green Acura that repeatedly rammed Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas and followed her for at least half a mile, causing her to panic and call her husband, who told her not to stop. , strangely, did not call 911.
Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas’ body was found hours later inside a burning SUV at a construction site, surrounded by shells.
It remains a mystery why Torres Garcia, who is wanted on gun charges in Puerto Rico, targeted Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas.
“At this point we have not yet made the connection with Jordanian. So to answer the question of why, if this is our gunman, why did he target her? We have yet to answer that question. “We can’t do that,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lema said. he said at a press conference.
On Friday, police also identified Giovani Crespo Hernandez as the person Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas Facetimed while driving through downtown Orlando shortly before the killing and named him a person of interest in the case. did.
Hernandez allegedly told Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas’ brother that he had come to the area, more than three hours away from his home in South Florida, to deliver money and “other things to a friend.”
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said at a news conference Friday that investigators found fentanyl and a firearm during a search of Hernandez’s home, but that Hernandez remains at large.
Hernandez’s girlfriend was taken into custody Friday after accepting a delivery of three kilograms of cocaine orchestrated by Homeland Security Investigations.
Police said they are investigating two other people wanted in connection with the incident. Among them is the person who drove the Acura and taunted Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas before the kidnapping.
The horrifying kidnapping was caught on camera by a witness when Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas was forced to stop at a red light.
That’s when the video shows a man run from the green car toward Guerrero de Aguasbias’ driver’s side window.
The man then stuck a gun through the window and got into her back seat.
According to police, Guerrero de Aguasbias’ car then left the intersection, heading for certain death, under the direction of his arresting officer.
“The perpetrators knew who they were targeting,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.
Police say Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas’ husband is not a suspect in the case, despite his involvement in leaking criminal information.
Orange County Deputy Francisco Estrella, a family friend of Miguel Aguas-Vivas, is accused of providing him with details of the investigation, including the lead detective’s home address.
The mysterious incident includes why Guerrero de Aguas-Vivas was driving so far from her home, why she didn’t call 911, and, as police speculate, Miguel There are still many unknowns, including whether it may hold some kind of secret.
“I think the first story was that she came here to visit her family. I don’t know if we believe that,” Ms. Rema said.
“I think there are a lot more blanks that he can help fill in regarding this particular crime and now potentially other crimes.”
