Sheriff: 3rd person of interest in custody in deadly Seminole County carjacking, kidnapping
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma announced Tuesday afternoon that a third person of interest in a woman’s murder is now in custody.
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Lemma said Kevin Justiniano has been arrested in Puerto Rico on unrelated drug charges.
The sheriff said cellphone location data confirmed Justiniano’s involvement in the kidnapping.
Investigators believe he was in a green Acura that was at the scene of the armed carjacking and kidnapping of Katherine Aguasvivas near Winter Springs on April 11.
Her body was found later that day in a burning vehicle at a construction site in Osceola County.
Lemma said Justiniano drove a Toyota Corolla to the site where the Acura was cleaned and dumped and then gave its occupants a ride.
Investigators said Aguasvivas had driven from South Florida to Central Florida to visit Giovany Crespo Hernandez and called him shortly before she arrived at Seminole County.
Lemma said detectives tried to interview him Wednesday, but he refused to speak with them and left his home with his girlfriend, Monicsabel Soto. Their home was then raided.
An arrest affidavit said investigators discovered fentanyl, marijuana, money and a gun in that home -- evidence that was used to charge Crespo Hernandez with drug trafficking.
Deputies said Soto drove to Osceola County to pick up three kilos of cocaine while the raid was underway. She also faces charges.
Lemma said Tuesday that the entire case appears to be centered on drugs.
Read: What we know about a person of interest in a deadly Seminole County carjacking, kidnapping
“Everyone who has watched this knows it’s about drugs and money, right?” he said. “You look at the history -- at the background -- and ... clearly there’s a drug and money nexus here. That’s probably enough motive here for people to engage in this type of behavior.”
During a Tuesday afternoon hearing, Crespo Hernandez said nothing as a judge ordered him to remain jailed until next month.
Crespo Hernandez surrendered to deputies days after Lemma said he was wanted in connection to Aguasvivas’ kidnapping and murder.
They said he was among the last people to speak with her on the phone before her death.
Deputies announced last week that they arrested Jordanish Torres-Garcia, whom they believe is one of the kidnappers.
Lemma said Tuesday that detectives have confirmed that Torres-Garcia is the man seen holding the gun in the video.
They said they also believe he is linked to the murder of a tow truck driver in Orange County’s Taft neighborhood the night before Aguasvivas’ kidnapping.
Both Justiniano and Torres-Garcia face federal charges of carjacking that resulted in a death.
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