By Cesar Rodriguez
Laredo Morning Times
LAREDO, Texas — Thinking that law enforcement would zero in on him after a woman escaped from his vehicle, suspected serial killer and U.S. Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz went to his north Laredo home to load up several weapons into his white Dodge pickup, said Webb County Sheriff’s Office Chief Fred Garza during a news conference Monday.
Ortiz could have been anticipating a shootout with authorities, Garza said. But Ortiz happened to be using the restroom when law enforcement spotted his vehicle early Saturday at the Valero gas station at 2701 San Bernardo Ave.
“The perpetrator made a mistake and law enforcement capitalized on it,” the chief said.
Texas troopers, who were already on the lookout for Ortiz and his vehicle, tried to confront him at the gas station. But Ortiz ran and evaded a trooper who tried to tase him, according to Garza.
Authorities found him soon thereafter hiding in the parking garage of the nearby Hotel Ava, located at San Bernardo and Garden Street.
“He was going to try to commit suicide by cop. He tried to use his phone to make it look like a weapon,” Garza said.
Ortiz was arrested without incident. He is currently under suicide watch due to the nature of the crime and as a precaution with inmates facing similar types of charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He is being held on a $2.5 million bond. He was charged Saturday night with four counts of murder as well as aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and evading arrest.
Following his arrest, authorities said he confessed to the killing of four sex workers between Sept. 3 and Sept. 15. According to arrest affidavits, Ortiz would pick up the victims on San Bernardo Avenue, drive them outside city limits and shoot them in the head. He was not on duty and wore civilian clothes during the killings.
The first victim, Melissa Ramirez, 29, was killed Sept. 3. The second, Claudine Ann Luera, 42, was killed Sept. 13. Authorities said he fatally shot two others in the hours after the woman escaped from his vehicle on Friday night.
One of those victims was identified Monday as Humberto Ortiz, 28. The transgender woman was found dead Saturday afternoon on mile marker 15 on Interstate 35. The fourth person who has not been identified was found at the underpass on mile marker 21 on I-35, Garza said.
According to authorities, Ortiz knew the victims and targeted them for their vulnerability. Investigators didn’t detail Ortiz’s history with the women.
“He had the trust of most of the victims that were involved in this killing,” Garza said. “So he took that opportunity to commit this crime.”
Garza said Ortiz “mentioned the dislike for the community ... the victims represented” — presumably a reference to a comment made under police questioning. But even as additional details of Ortiz’s alleged crimes trickled out, authorities were still scouring for clues that would give a better understanding of what motivated the killings.
“The question that’s out there is, why would he do this?” Webb County District Attorney Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz said. “And that’s part of our mission right now. Why? It’s difficult to get into the mind of a killer.
“Unfortunately, this is a community of people that are vulnerable because of alcohol, substance abuse, drug addiction or prostitution.”
Alaniz added, “The evidence that we have right now is that he committed these murders in similar fashion, taking these individuals ... near or right outside the city limits and executing them with a handgun.”
He also said, “Thanks to the victim that escaped, law enforcement got a break.”
As the case develops over the next 30 to 90 days, his office and collaborating agencies will decide whether to seek capital murder charges, Alaniz said.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost, who attended Monday’s news conference, said Ortiz has been placed on indefinite suspension.
“These are horrific times. This was one rogue individual,” Provost said.
The men and women of the Border Patrol work diligently on a daily basis to help protect the communities they live in, she said.
“I would hate for this to tarnish the great work those men and women do,” Provost said. “I’m here to support my men and women. Obviously, it had an extreme impact on them. We cannot imagine the impact that this has had in the community. I’m sickened and saddened by the events that have occurred and I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”
Garza said he was confident “the killings will stop” because they had nabbed the right suspect. But he was less sure that no other victims of Ortiz, who had worked for Border Patrol for a decade, would be discovered.
“We’re not confident of that,” he said, but assured the public investigators were scouring Ortiz’s history in case any other crimes may be linked.
Fear of additional victims is particularly haunting for sex workers, including Christa Daring, executive director of Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA. Daring said the organization routinely hears stories of women preyed on by law enforcement officers and that it seemed plausible there were other victims of Ortiz.
“Typically somebody who has this kind of access to really vulnerable populations is active for more than two weeks,” Daring said.
Victims’ families echoed that concern.
“I believe that it’s just kind of like a small piece of it,” said Alberto Luera, a second cousin of Luera, who was discovered shot on a rural roadside Thursday. “I would imagine that things are just going to keep showing up.”
Ortiz was believed to have acted alone. Jail records don’t list an attorney for him.