Texas massacre suspect arrested

Francisco Oropesa, the man accused of fatally shooting five people – including a 9-year-old child – at a neighbor’s home Friday in Cleveland, Texas, was formally charged with five counts of murder during his first court appearance Wednesday, Judge Randy Ellisor said.

Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican national, evaded capture until Tuesday. Law enforcement found him hiding in a closet of a home near the site of the massacre.

If you’re just reading in, here are the latest updates:

What happened: After being asked to stop firing his rifle outside near a neighbor’s home to avoid waking a child on Friday, Oropesa refused to do so. He allegedly then shot and killed five people inside the home. The victims were Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9; Diana Velázquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and José Jonathan Cásarez, 18.

How authorities found Oropesa: Initial leads running cold over the weekend with over 200 officers working the case. But an FBI tip led investigators to the home in the small city of Cut and Shoot, Texas, where Oropesa was found, according to FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul.

After sheriff’s deputies found the home, federal and state authorities entered and took Oropesa, who was hiding under a laundry pile in a closet, into custody, an FBI Houston spokesperson said.

What’s next for Oropesa: He was formally charged with five counts of murder during his court appearance Wednesday, Ellisor said. His bond was set at $1.5 million for each charge, for a total bond amount of $7.5 million. His next court appearance won't be until after he's indicted, which isn't expected for weeks.

Texas shooting suspect Francisco Oropesa was formally charged with five counts of murder during his first court appearance, Judge Randy Ellisor told reporters Wednesday.

His bond was set at $1.5 million for each charge, for a total bond amount of $7.5 million Wednesday afternoon at the San Jacinto County jail. 

There may be a possibility for additional charges, Ellisor said. 

Domingo Castilla, who was also arrested in connection with the apprehension of Oropesa, was charged with possession of marijuana and had a bond set at $5,000. 

Ellisor said Oropesa does not currently have an attorney, but paperwork is being filled out for him to get an attorney. 

Ellisor said they used a certified Spanish interpreter during the proceeding, and Oropesa said very little while the charges were read. "He basically said, I see, I see, I see."

Oropesa was wrapped in a green towel as part of routine suicide prevention protocols. 

His next court appearance won't be until after he's indicted, which isn't expected for weeks.

Authorities believe Francisco Oropesa, the man accused of fatally shooting five people – including a 9-year-old and his mom – last week in a Texas home, received assistance from at least two people while trying to avoid capture by police, San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon told reporters Wednesday. 

Dillon said Divimara Lamar Nava, the woman who lived with and shared a child with Oropesa was playing both sides — cooperating with authorities but also helping Oropesa by "providing material aid and encouragement, food, clothes, and arranged transport" to the house he was arrested in. 

Dillon said Nava was cooperating up until the point they arrested Oropesa, Tuesday evening, but due to the pending charges, he couldn't get into details of what happened during the arrest.  

Nava is in custody in Montgomery County, according to case records. It’s unclear if she has an attorney. 

Another person – a man suspected of assisting Oropesa in fleeing the neighborhood where the shooting took place – is in custody in the San Jacinto County Jail, according to Dillon. He is currently being held on a possession of marijuana charge, but “we expect there to be more charges filed,” he said.

Oropesa is currently charged with one count of first-degree felony murder connected with the death of one of the five victims, Dillon said, but he could not say who.

Dillon said the charging decisions were procedural, allowing Oropesa to be held on a $5 million bond after his arrest.

There is a possibility to upgrade the charges to capital murder, and it’s very likely four other murder charges will be filed, Dillon said.

According to the district attorney, none of the three arrested so far will appear in court Wednesday, but they will meet with a judge while in custody to review the charges and terms of their detention.

A male friend of the Texas massacre suspect is being investigated in connection with the fugitive manhunt, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case.

The source tells CNN the man has been arrested on a drug possession charge, but authorities are investigating him for possibly aiding and abetting suspect Francisco Oropesa while he was at large.

The source also confirmed Oropesa's female partner, Divimara Lamar Nava, has been arrested and faced a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon.

Divimara Lamar Nava, the woman who lived with and shared a child with the accused Cleveland, Texas gunman, was booked into the Montgomery County jail on Wednesday, according to sheriff records online. 

She's facing a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, a third-degree felony. She was arrested at the same location in Montgomery County where her partner — Francisco Oropesa — was arrested on Tuesday night, case records show. 

It’s unclear if she has an attorney or when her court appearance will be.  

The chief deputy with nearby San Jacinto County, Tim Kean, also confirmed multiple arrests were made in connection with the apprehension of Oropesa, who's accused of killing five people at his neighbor's home in Cleveland, which is located in San Jacinto County.  

While Oropesa was arrested in Montgomery County, he was transported to San Jacinto County jail overnight. 

CNN observed Nava going in and out of the home she shared with the suspect the past two days in San Jacinto County, and authorities previously stated they were in "constant contact" with her. An FBI official was also seen at her home on Monday while she was there. 

Records show Nava and Oropesa were not legally married, but a source who knows the family tells CNN they were together for about 12 years and had a child together. 

The source also confirmed that the woman in the Montgomery County booking photo is Nava. 

In the end, it was information submitted through the FBI’s tip line that pointed investigators to the home where suspect Francisco Oropesa was discovered, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul said Tuesday night.

Federal, state and local authorities had devoted considerable resources to hunting for the fugitive, including a collective $80,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and more than 200 law enforcement officers on the case, officials have said.

Officials’ efforts may have been stymied by a lack of trust in law enforcement. Some Latinos, particularly immigrants, fear contact with law enforcement could lead to questions about their immigration status and lead to deportation, they told CNN.

After initial leads on Oropesa went cold over the weekend, authorities pleaded for tips – which eventually came in from Texas, Wyoming, Florida, Maryland and Oklahoma, the sheriff said.

It’s not clear if law enforcement had tracked Oropesa’s wife to the home before or after the tip was sent to the FBI.

Once they had zeroed in on the house, members of the Texas Department of Public Safety, US Marshals Service and US Customs and Border Patrol’s tactical unit, known as BORTAC, entered the home and brought the suspect into custody, an FBI Houston spokesperson said. The sheriff’s office located the home in the small city of Cut and Shoot, while the FBI Houston office tweeted it is in adjacent Conroe.

The BORTAC unit has played a key role in several high-profile US operations, including the mass shooting last year at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where its members fatally shot that gunman, authorities said.

Authorities in Texas are evaluating whether to elevate the charges against accused gunman Francisco Oropesa to make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, a law enforcement source involved in the investigation tells CNN. 

Asked by CNN’s Ed Lavandera about charges at a press conference Tuesday evening, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropesa is charged with five counts of murder for the alleged killing of five people near Cleveland, Texas, on Friday, including a nine-year-old boy.

A source involved in the investigation told CNN that an arrest warrant was issued for Oropesa on Saturday and authorities strategically decided at that time to not accuse him of capital murder, which is a death penalty offense in Texas.

Their rationale was due to the fact authorities did not know if the suspect would be found in the United States or Mexico, the source said. If Oropesa had been apprehended in Mexico, a charge of capital murder could have complicated potential extradition proceedings, as many nations refuse to extradite suspects to the US if they face potential execution. 

Now that Oropresa has been located in Texas, the source said prosecutors are determining whether they will elevate the charges against him to a death penalty offense.

Several arrests have been made, including a man accused of fatally shooting five people at a neighbor’s home in Texas last week, according to San Jacinto County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tim Kean.

Kean wouldn’t elaborate who else besides the shooting suspect, Francisco Oropesa, was arrested or why.

The chief deputy said investigators believe they have recovered the alleged murder weapon.

"We may have the weapon but we have to wait for the ballistics," Kean said.

Oropesa’s bond will be set Wednesday morning by a judge, the chief deputy said.

Oropesa was found in a house Tuesday evening, just miles from the home in Cleveland, Texas, where the killings took place, the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office previously said.

"We think we know how he got there, but we have to prove that out," Kean said.

After a dayslong manhunt, accused gunman Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican national, was found Tuesday evening stowed under a pile of laundry in a closet just a few miles from the massacre site after a tip helped lead authorities to him, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Tuesday.

Law enforcement also tracked Oropesa’s partner to the home, which is associated with one of the suspect’s family members, a law enforcement source told CNN.

The suspect is expected to appear in court Wednesday to be read the charges, a source with the San Jacinto County District Attorney’s Office told CNN, adding the charges could be upgraded to capital murder – a death penalty offense in Texas. Authorities are still investigating whether he had any help in evading arrest, the San Jacinto County district attorney told CNN.

Oropesa is accused of fatally shooting five people Friday after he was asked to stop firing his rifle outdoors near his neighbor’s home. Wilson Garcia, whose wife and son were killed, and two others had asked Oropesa to shoot on the other side of his property because the gunfire was waking Garcia’s baby, he told CNN. The suspect refused and soon unleashed gunfire into the home where Garcia’s family was gathered, he said.

The victims – all Honduran nationals – have been identified as Garcia’s wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9; Velázquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and José Jonathan Cásarez, 18.

Authorities now have 90 days to indict Oropesa, a law enforcement source involved said. Due to his status as a Mexican national, the Mexican consulate will be formally notified of his circumstances on Wednesday, the law enforcement source said.

At least four times since 2009, Oropesa had entered the US unlawfully and been deported, according to an ICE source. An immigration judge first removed him in March 2009 before he was deported again in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016, the source said.

It’s unclear how long Oropesa had been in the US before last week’s attack.