HOUSTON — The illegal Venezuelan man was charged with killing a 12-year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek after she went missing while walking to a convenience store. On Monday, a judge in Texas set his bond at $10 million.
Franklin Two men, including 26-year-old Jose Peña Ramos, are charged with capital murder in the death of Jocelyn Nungaray. This is Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, who is 22 years old.
Police told state District Judge Josh Hill that Peña and Martinez-Rangel tried to leave the Houston area after the killing. This was done during Peña’s bond hearing.
A statement released Friday by the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the two men are from Venezuela and came to the U.S. illegally in March. The U.S. Border Patrol caught Martinez-Rangel and Peña on March 14 and March 28, both near El Paso, Texas. Both were given bail and told to go to court at a later time.
A lot of people are worried about immigration, and they think President Joe Biden isn’t doing enough to keep the country’s borders safe. Earlier this month, Biden announced plans to put in place instant, strict rules on people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Peña and Martinez-Rangel are both being held by federal immigration officials. This means that they would stay in jail even if they could make bond. Martinez-Rangel is due back in court on Tuesday to speak about his bond.
On June 17, Nungaray’s body was found in a small creek. Police said she had snuck out of her nearby home the night before. The medical officer says she died from being strangled.
Court papers say that the suspects led Nungaray under a bridge and stayed with her there for more than two hours.
Prosecutors say the guys killed her, tied her up, and threw her body in the bayou after taking off her pants. Kim Ogg, the district attorney for Harris County, said it doesn’t look like the two guys knew the 12-year-old.
“There’s no doubt about it: this is a terrible crime,” Ogg told the press after Peña’s court date.
Lisa Andrews, who is Peña’s court-appointed lawyer, did not answer right away when called and emailed asking for comment.
Alexis Nungaray, the victim’s mother, remembers her daughter on Monday as being strange and “definitely made people laugh.”
She said, “I’ll always remember those times because she had such a bright future ahead of her and I knew she was going to go very far.” “These monsters took that chance away from her and her family.”
Martinez-Rangel and Peña were arrested on Thursday. Investigators say they lived together. Police said that surveillance video showed two men approaching Jocelyn Nungaray as she walked with them to a convenience shop in Houston. Police say they then walked together to a bridge and killed the girl there.
His granddaughter Jocelyn Nungaray died on Monday. Her grandpa, Kelvin Alvarenga, said that her death could have been avoided if the country’s immigration system had been “redone.”
“I don’t think all people who cross the border are bad.” “But there are some of them who are,” he said. “Why not look into these people who come here for a little longer?”
Ogg said that Peña and Martinez-Rangel cannot be put to death for the murder charges they are facing. She did say that the death sentence could be used if more DNA tests or other proof showed that the victim had been sexually assaulted or kidnapped.
