Four Guatemalan nationals wanted in connection with a murder in New Mexico fled the state and made it halfway across the country before being arrested at a motel in Erie County, Ohio.
Erie County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspects at a Milan Township-area motel after being contacted by the Lea County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico regarding a murder investigation out of that county.
Members of the group were wanted for the New Year’s Day fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Elvis Santos of Tatum, N.M., and were taken into custody Jan. 9.
All four suspects are Guatemalan nationals who are illegally in the United States, according to Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed detainers on all four individuals.
According to a news release from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office and local reports, Lea County issued warrants for the following individuals who were captured in Ohio:
Elman Canuel Franco, 26, of Lovington, New Mexico, for murder, bribery, intimidation or retaliation against a witness, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and aggravated assault.
His brother, Elder Misael Franco, 30, of Lovington, New Mexico, is charged with the same offenses.
Maylina Naveli Santos, 28, of Lovington, New Mexico, is charged with tampering with evidence and is an acquaintance of one of the brothers.
Manuel Morales, 46, of Clovis, New Mexico, is charged locally through Erie County with three counts of obstructing justice, each a third-degree felony, according to local reports.
A fifth man, Angel Rene Franco, 36, of Hobbs, New Mexico, was arrested in Lea County, New Mexico, and is charged with tampering with evidence. The release did not specify Angel Franco’s citizenship status.
According to the release, around 12:12 a.m. Jan. 1, the Lea County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a deceased individual at a home in Lovington, New Mexico. The discovered Elvis Santos dead with a fatal stab wound.
Later that morning, at approximately 3:02 a.m., deputies responded to a local hospital after another man — later determined to be Elman Franco — arrived with stab wounds.
Franco, along with others not name in the release, were transported to the Lea County Sheriff’s Office for interviews.
Investigators later issued arrest warrants based on evidence gathered, the release states.
The Franco brothers decided to flee the state. Police believe they were traveling on the 80-90 Ohio Turnpike and local authorities tracked them to a local motel. Erie County deputies spotted a car occupied by the suspects as the group left the motel parking lot and stopped the vehicle.
“Lea County did an outstanding job; of course, they had the investigation; they also had the warrants for the individuals, and they had the approximate location where they may be, and they were spot on,” Sheriff Sigsworth told Cleveland 19 News.
In another local FOX 8 report, the sheriff described the bust and said they had plain clothes detectives go out and observed them before stopping their vehicle.
“It’s very concerning,” he added. “They’re here illegally. They started leaving, and we were able to get some marked cars there, cut ’em off, and take them into custody before they got back on the highway.”
The sheriff said it was not clear why the suspects were in Northeast Ohio. They may have simply stopped off the Turnpike to get some rest while on the run. And, one suspect had already been removed from the U.S. before. In fact, deported twice before, FOX 8 News reported.
Erie County, home of Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, along Lake Erie, is located between Toledo and Cleveland.
The bust earlier this month is not the first time law enforcement has arrested suspects who entered the country illegally in northern Ohio.
In July, U.S. Marshals said they tracked down an illegal immigrant who was wanted for a sex crime against a child in Cleveland.
In another case last year, Ashland County deputies said they had found a man and a woman here illegally. Cleveland police arrested a stalking suspect who had been thrown out of the country twice before, yet he’d been living in Lakewood.
Meanwhile, ICE continues to make arrests across the nation of illegal immigrants convicted of aggravated child rape, robbery and sexual assault. Check out the latest worst of the worst arrests or search DHS.gov/wow for criminals arrested by state.
