A U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with killing four women and abducting a fifth may face the death penalty — if the evidence stacks up.
There was a clear pattern to the murders allegedly committed by Juan David Ortiz — he took each of the women out to desolate areas near or just outside the limits of the city of Laredo, Texas, before allegedly killing them using a handgun, according to Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz.
Authorities said Ortiz knew the women — all believed to be sex workers — and targeted them for their vulnerability, amid fears of more deaths at his hands remaining undiscovered.
Alaniz didn’t rule out prosecutors pursuing the death penalty for Ortiz, although he said it’s too early to tell because the crime is still being investigated and evidence compiled.
“At the appropriate time, we will make the decision on what final charges Ortiz will be facing,” Alaniz said. “There is a possibility that we will elect — if the evidence supports — to charge capital murder, and then the decision will be made if it will be capital murder non-death or capital murder seeking the death penalty.”
Ortiz is currently being held on $2.5 million bond, although Alaniz said the bond option will be rescinded if evidence supports a death penalty prosecution.
Ortiz, 35, amassed weapons at his home in anticipation of a possible confrontation with police, authorities said.
When officers did try to apprehend him, he fled to a nearby parking lot before brandishing his cellphone like a weapon in the hopes of being shot, but he was captured without incident around 2 a.m. Saturday.
According to affidavits, Ortiz confessed to the killings after he was taken into custody on Saturday. Authorities are still trying to ascertain what sparked the suspected 10-day killing spree.
Ortiz served in the U.S. Navy for nearly eight years before being hired by Border Patrol. The law enforcement agency said there was nothing in his background to suggest he was capable of murder.
Source: globalnews.ca, Rahul Kalvapalle, September 17, 2018
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