A man suspected in a mass shooting near the Texas town of Cleveland last week that killed five people, including a 9-year-old boy, has been apprehended, and multiple people have been arrested, according to authorities, including the suspect’s wife.
Following a multi-day search, 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa was apprehended at around 7 p.m. local time at a home in the Cut and Shoot, Texas, area, on a tip from the public, Montgomery County Sheriff Greg Capers confirmed in a news conference Tuesday night.
“He was caught hiding in a closet, underneath some laundry,” Capers explained.
Capers said he was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on five counts of murder and was being held on a $5 million bond. Capers added that he would be transferred to the Cold Springs jail in San Jacinto County.
The FBI, Border Patrol, and US Marshals were all involved in the arrest, according to the San Jacinto County District Attorney’s Office. According to San Jacinto County Chief Deputy Tim Kean on Wednesday morning, multiple arrests were made. Kean added that the district attorney will work with a grand jury to develop a charge package.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office released a video of a court hearing on Wednesday for 52-year-old Divimara Lamar Nava, whom prosecutors identified as Oropesa’s wife. She was being held on a third-degree felony charge of obstructing the capture of a fugitive. Prosecutors claimed that Nava attempted to help Oropesa flee to Mexico.
The bail for Nava has been set at $250,000.
Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Troy Miller said in a statement that he is “incredibly proud” of “agents from the Border Patrol’s elite BORTAC unit” who assisted in the capture of Oropesa. He stated that “Air and Marine Operations provided overwatch surveillance and aerial support” during the operation.
The suspect has been discovered thanks to a public tip, according to Jimmy Paul, FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Houston division.
“We’re extremely happy that the citizen had the courage and bravery to call in that tip,” Paul said.
Authorities would not say whether the home where Oropesa was discovered belonged to the suspect’s friends or family.
Capers previously stated that the suspect shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard on Friday night.
The attack occurred near Cleveland, which is located north of Houston. Cut and Shoot are approximately 17 miles west of Cleveland.
Capers previously reported that the victims ranged in age from 9 to 31 years old and that they were all from Honduras. “From the neck up,” he said, they were all shot. Sonia Guzman, 28, Diana Velasquez, 21, Obdulia Molina, 31, Jonathan Caceres, 18, and Daniel Enrique Lazo, 9, were identified.
There were ten people in the house at the time of the shooting, but the other five were unharmed. Three children were discovered in the house covered in blood, but they were unharmed, according to Capers.
Capers previously stated that police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that Oropesa was suspected of using in the shootings on Saturday. Investigators also discovered clothing and a cell phone believed to be belonging to the suspect.
Oropesa, a Mexican national, was deported by ICE agents in Houston in 2009 after a U.S. immigration judge ordered his removal.
CBS News has learned that after re-entering the country, he was apprehended and deported several times over the next seven years. Oropesa has a prior conviction in Montgomery County for driving while intoxicated, for which he was sentenced to time in jail.
Capers also confirmed Tuesday night that Oropesa was wanted after his wife filed a protective order against him last year. On Wednesday, authorities refused to answer reporters’ questions about the suspect’s wife.
“To the best of my knowledge, we got a warrant for him,” Capers stated. “Because he left here, the constable went to serve him in another county, and he never could make contact with the subject.”. And then, a few days later, the victim went to the district attorney’s office” in San Jacinto County “and filed a non-prosecution statement.”
