US Marshals task force arrests three men on murder charges in North Austin homicide
Three men were arrested in connection with the April 28 homicide of a 39-year-old man at a North Austin apartment complex, the U.S. Marshals Service Austin division announced Tuesday.
The Austin Police Department requested assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force to locate and arrest the men after an investigation was conducted by the Police Department's homicide unit, a U.S. Marshals Service press release said.
The men were arrested over a five-day span, beginning with the arrest of Jairo Velasquez-Lopez, 22, identified by law enforcement as the getaway driver. He was arrested May 9 in the 800 block of East Rundberg Lane, according to the release.
During questioning, Velasquez-Lopez "provided an accurate reenactment" of the events of April 28, his arrest affidavit said. He admitted to driving to the apartment complex with another man, identified as Giovany Perdomo, 20, and assisting Perdomo in the homicide of Lowen Alberto Ordonez Lobo.
Hours prior to the homicide, Velasquez-Lopez and Perdomo were seen "conducting surveillance" of the parking lot where Lobo had parked his vehicle, at Villas Del Sol apartments, 1711 Rutland Drive. Police said they arrived at the apartment complex shortly before 8:40 p.m. and found Lobo with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased at the scene about 10 minutes later, an Austin Police Department press release previously said.
After the shooting, surveillance footage showed Perdomo running down a sidewalk and getting into Velasquez-Lopez's white Nissan Maxima near the intersection of Ledgewood and Quail Hutch drives, an arrest affidavit says.
Law enforcement agencies tracked Velasquez-Lopez's movements through the neighborhood through an "extensive" search of video in the area, including surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven where Velasquez-Lopez was seen making a purchase and fueling his vehicle after the homicide.
Police also issued a cellphone search warrant for Velasquez-Lopez's iPhone and found evidence of his communication with Perdomo. Data from the men's cellphones placed them in the area on the night of April 28, an affidavit said.
Perdomo was arrested May 13 in the 6500 block of Bluff Springs Road, the release said, after Velasquez-Lopez told police about Perdomo's involvement. Perdomo told law enforcement that his coworker, Nixon Othoniel Marquez-Martinez, 32, had hired him to kill Lobo and paid him $6,000 the day after the shooting. The warrant did not identify where the two men worked, nor why Marquez-Martinez wanted Lobo dead.
The two men had planned the homicide for a month, an affidavit said. Perdomo gave Velasquez-Lopez $1,500 for his role as a getaway driver.
Marquez-Martinez was arrested May 14 at his home in the 2800 block of Wells Branch Parkway, a release said.
The three men face one charge of murder each and are being held at the Travis County Jail, the release said. They were identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as Honduran immigrants.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: US Marshals task force arrests 3 in connection with North Austin killing
