Two illegal immigrants accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nangaray in Houston, Texas, have been released into the United States by President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after crossing the southern border, according to reports.
Venezuelan nationals Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Peña, 26, were arrested and charged by Houston police with the murder of Jocelyn Nungaray in the early morning hours of June 17, Breitbart News reported.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said: Said Fox News’ Bill Melgin said Martinez Rangel and Peña were “illegal Venezuelan nationals.”
Martinez-Rangel was arrested by Border Patrol agents at the border near El Paso, Texas, according to ICE officials. He was released on bail to the U.S. mainland the same day and was told to appear before a federal immigration judge at a later date.
Peña was arrested by Border Patrol agents near El Paso on May 28 and released on U.S. soil the same day on a national bail warrant — just 20 days before Houston police said he helped kill Jocelyn.
Illegal immigrants Franklin Pena and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel. (Photo courtesy of Houston Police Department)
Martinez Rangel and Peña are among 7.4 million immigrants who have been released from Department of Homeland Security custody and are known to be living in communities across the United States while awaiting deportation hearings.
On the night of June 16, Jocelyn snuck out of her apartment after her mother went to bed. Jocelyn’s boyfriend was reportedly the last person to speak with the girl. Shortly after midnight, Jocelyn was seen on surveillance video at the 7-Eleven with Martinez-Rangel and Peña.
Police say Jocelyn, Martinez-Rangel and Pena left the 7-Eleven and made their way to a nearby bridge. Police say Martinez-Rangel and Pena strangled Jocelyn to death and left her body in a creek near the bridge sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. Jocelyn’s body was found in the creek later that day.
“In this case, the defendant[s] “He lured a 12-year-old girl under a bridge, removed her pants, tied her up, killed her and dumped her body in the bayou,” prosecutors allege.
Martinez-Rangel and Peña remain incarcerated in the Harris County Jail, with prosecutors seeking bail of $1 million each. ICE agents have issued detention orders for both illegal immigrants, requesting that they be held because they could be released from the jail at any time.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
