Katherine Aguasvivas death: Jordanish Torres-Garcia arrested in woman's carjacking investigation
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Authorities in Florida have made an arrest in connection with the carjacking incident that was captured on camera last week. Additionally, they have announced their pursuit of a second individual, identified through the victim's brother's independent investigation.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma reported that Jordanish Torres-Garcia was apprehended shortly after noon on Friday, April 19.
The phone number linked to Jordanish Torres-Garcia matches the one associated with the individual who bought the green Acura observed in the video, which rammed Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas' Dodge Durango on April 11.
Witness footage shows Jordanish Torres-Garcia pointing gun at Katherine Aguasvivas
Lemma stated that the individual observed in the witness footage, exiting the Acura, brandishing a firearm at Katherine Aguasvivas, and subsequently entering the rear seat of her vehicle, is believed to be Torres-Garcia, according to Crime Online.
The vehicle was found ablaze in Osceola County two hours later, with a body inside suspected to be Katherine Aguasvivas. Subsequently, the abandoned Acura was located in Orlando. Moreover, it was linked to a homicide in Orange County on April 10, the day before Aguasvivas' demise.
Lemma described Torres-Garcia, aged 28, as a "person of interest" in the carjacking case. He mentioned that Torres-Garcia was apprehended because of an active weapons warrant issued in Puerto Rico.
The sheriff said, “He is here at our office being interviewed. He’s not going to be released. He has federal charges that he’s going to be held on.”
Investigators are still awaiting phone logs, computer logs, and other documents they believe will bolster their case. “When those records come back, I think it’s going to put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle that are still outstanding together,” Lemma said.
In the interim, Lemma presented a photo from Torres-Garcia's social media account, which appeared to depict him dressed identically to the individual seen as the gunman in the carjacking video.
Giovany Hernandez is suspected to be involved in Katherine Aguasvivas' murder
Lemma emphasized that investigators remain uncertain about the identity of the individual operating the green Acura and have refrained from speculating whether he is the subject of Aguasvivas' brother's "investigation."
The man has been identified as 27-year-old Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez.
Lemma stated that the brother identified him by utilizing his sister's iCloud account to access information regarding her last Facetime conversations while she was traveling from her Homestead residence to Seminole County.
Utilizing Facetime, the brother contacted Hernandez and provided police authorities with a screenshot of their conversation. Lemma stated that detectives compared Hernandez's 2019 mugshot to a database in Pinellas County.
“He tells us that Giovany told him that Katherine was up here to deliver money and other stuff for a friend,” Lemma said.
When investigators searched Hernandez and his girlfriend's house, they discovered guns and drugs—but not the 10mm gun that was used in the carjacking.
After accepting delivery of mailed cocaine, the girlfriend was detained by federal agents, but Hernandez is still at large.
Lemma characterized the brother's "independent investigation" as "highly unusual behavior" and stated that he had not been in communication with law enforcement.
Nevertheless, he underscored that neither the brother nor Aguasvivas' husband is under investigation or facing charges. The husband received a call from his wife immediately after the Acura collided with her vehicle, but he waited two hours before contacting the police.
“I’m incredibly skeptical of their level of cooperation,” he said. “They’ve never been listed as a person of interest. They’ve never been listed as a suspect.”