Former Border Patrol Agent Juan David Ortiz was found guilty today of capital murder in the 2018 shooting deaths of Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Luera, Guiselda Alicia Cantu, and Humberto Janelle Ortiz. He was indicted December 5, 2018 for the slayings and for committing aggravated assault against Erika Peña.
All of Ortiz’s victims were sex workers.
The trial, which was moved to San Antonio, was heard in the 406th District Court and spanned eight days. Jurors rendered a guilty verdict after 4.5 hours of deliberation. Ortiz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ortiz’s murderous spree of the four sex workers and the assault against Erika Peña transpired between September 3, 2018 and September 15, 2018.
Assault survivor Peña played a pivotal role in ending Ortiz’s deadly trajectory on September 14, 2018 when she fled from the agent’s truck where he held her at gunpoint at a north Laredo gas station. She ran to a DPS trooper who happened to be at the station, recounting her ordeal and Ortiz’s behavior when she spoke of her friend Melissa Ramirez who had been murdered the week before.
On Saturday, September 15, 2018 at about 1:00 a.m., State Troopers located Ortiz in his white Dodge truck at a gas station at the intersection of San Bernardo Ave. and Jefferson St.
Ortiz fled on foot but was found near 2:30 a.m. by DPS officers, the Texas Rangers, and officers of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office. He was hiding in the parking garage of a local hotel at the 800 block of Garden Street.
Ortiz was arrested, and during his interview he confessed to committing the aggravated assault of Peña and the four murders.
Webb County District Attorney Isidro R. Alaniz, Chief Assistant District Attorney Marisela Jacaman, and ADAs Rogelio Soto, David Reuthinger, Karina Rios, and Daniel Elizondo prosecuted the case for the State.
For deep, detailed background on the case, read writer Rick Jervis’s excellent account at
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/08/juan-david-ortiz-guilty-serial-killings-trial/10837808002/
