The tangled web of a fatal carjacking in Seminole County, Florida unfolded further this Thursday as Jordanish Torres-Garcia, accused of the April 11 murder, made his first federal court appearance in Orlando. The 28-year-old suspect claimed he was hired to abduct the victim, Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, and was provided with the firearm utilized in the crime, WKMG reported.
Per the federal affidavit, Torres-Garcia stated that 30 minutes prior to the crime, he received an unloaded AR-15 and $1,500 with specific instructions to deliver Aguasvivas to an unidentified accomplice. Torres-Garcia, arrested on April 19, has confessed to confronting Aguasvivas in her white Dodge Durango – an encounter caught on camera, near Winter Springs. Despite the gravity of the situation, and the involvement of multiple parties, so far the investigation has led to several arrests related to but distinct from the homicide itself.
Details provided by Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma accentuate the shadowy background of drugs and money suspected to be at the heart of the case. "Everyone who’s watched this has known it’s about drugs and money," Lemma said, underscoring the connection amidst the probe. The Dodge Durango was later discovered ablaze in Osceola County, with Aguasvivas' shot-riddle body within, although identification is pending lab results.
Two other individuals have come under the spotlight: Kevin Ocasio Justiniano, nabbed in Puerto Rico – believed to have been in the Acura that tailed the Durango, and Giovany Crespo Hernandez, apprehended on unrelated drug charges. In a statement obtained by WESH posted on X, investigators revealed Justiniano is anticipated to face federal carjacking charges while Crespo Hernandez's conversation with Aguasvivas before the incident does not implicate him in the carjacking itself.
Sheriff: 2 persons of interest identified in deadly Seminole County carjacking case | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/Z5f59q2d8E
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The affidavit notes Torres-Garcia's admission after waiving his Miranda rights, and how he had followed the green Acura before the carjacking transpired at the junction of East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road. As the case intensifies, Lemma promised additional intel may surface as they dig deeper, "Clearly, there’s a drug and money nexus here," he affirmed, painting a stark vista of the crime's underlying motives.
