(WSVN) - New details have emerged in connection to a Homestead woman who was carjacked and murdered in Central Florida, linking the crime to drug trafficking.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero de Aguavivas was killed in her car while traveling from Homestead to Central Florida earlier this month. Police later found her body burning in the car.
Homeland Security has made a significant arrest involving the girlfriend of 27-year-old Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez, a primary suspect in Guerrero de Aguavivas’ murder.
Monicsabel Romero, 27, was apprehended after she allegedly received a package sent from Puerto Rico containing $60,000 worth of drugs at her sister’s residence in Central Florida.
Authorities believed the girlfriend intended to traffic drugs, leading to her arrest. She was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
Along with the drugs, police said they also found high-end watches, substantial sums of money and multiple firearms at the location. Investigators believe many of these items were taken during robberies and home invasions. They also found a hidden compartment inside a vehicle that was parked out front.
Officials said Hernandez, who remains at large, is also the suspect in a 2020 Homeland Security probe in the Miami area that led to agents seizing more than $300,000. He’s been called a known member of a drug trafficking organization.
On Friday, authorities arrested 28-year-old Jordanish Torres-Garcia. Authorities linked him to the purchase of the green Acura sedan involved in the carjacking.
“I’m identifying him as a person of interest,” said Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma. “But his number is matching the phone number that was given with the person who purchased the green Acura and, of course, the photograph looks to me as identical.”
Officials believe the green Acura is also connected to a murder that occurred the day before the carjacking in Orange County. In this case, a tow truck driver was shot and killed.
The new information is now in the hands of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office as they continue to examine the crime connection that led to the brutal killing of Guerrero de Aguavivas.
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