The Associated Press
HOUSTON, TX - A man accused of shooting a 1 1/2-year-old boy to death while the child was strapped into his car seat is a member of a violent Central American gang that’s being investigated by a national task force, authorities said.
Miguel Angel Castro faces capital murder charges and is accused of firing five shots into the windshield of a car that Aiden Naquin was riding in with his family last week. Castro belongs to the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department said.
Houston police want to question other suspects who they say were with Castro, a 19-year-old Salvadoran, during a recent standoff about possible connections to nine other area homicides. Federal officials are also investigating the gang.
“When we look at Houston, we will be looking for ties that may connect to other parts of the U.S.,” said Bob Clifford, who heads the MS-13 National Task Force that formed in January. “This gang’s propensity for vicious violence, its rapid spread and ties to violent Central American cliques have made it the highest priority of the FBI’s gang investigations.”
Ernest Naquin was returning to his home after taking his three children to get ice cream in Huffman, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) northeast of Houston, when the shooting occurred. The toddler was strapped into his car seat while the rest of the family ducked and was shot in the head.
Investigators said they are certain the Naquin family was the target of the shooting, and they are trying to figure out what drew the gang’s attention, said Harris County Sheriff’s Lt. John Denholm.
Naquin, 27, insists he has no connection to his son’s killer and believes it was a case of mistaken identity.
Naquin was released from prison in 2002 and has convictions for misdemeanor assault of a family member, burglary of a habitation, arson and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Harris County records show. Since his release, Naquin has been the children’s main caretaker while his wife works.
An alleged MS-13 gang member who is a suspect in the killings of 28 people in Honduras, was arrested in McAllen Feb. 10 trying to illegally cross an immigration checkpoint, Clifford said.
The gang was the target of a federal crackdown last month that swept six U.S. cities, resulting in 103 arrests. Mara Salvatrucha was started by Salvadoran refugees in the Los Angeles area in the early 1980s and is now in 31 other states.