SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office provided several key developments in the homicide investigation involving a woman who was carjacked at gunpoint near Winter Springs on April 11.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, of Homestead, was attacked and kidnapped at gunpoint at an intersection near Winter Springs.
Aguasvivas was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road in her Dodge Durango around 6 p.m. when a masked gunman carrying a 10mm automatic handgun got out of a green Acura and entered her SUV, apparently forcing her to drive off.
Later that evening, witnesses in Osceola County reported hearing gunshots and seeing smoke from a vehicle fire. The vehicle was badly damaged, and a body was found inside it. Authorities believe it is Aguasvivas.
[TIMELINE: Here’s what we know about woman carjacked in broad daylight near Winter Springs]
Sheriff Dennis Lemma said at a news conference on Monday afternoon that the 2002 Green Acura in question, one of only three in the state of Florida, has been located.
Lemma said that a Winter Springs family sold the Acura to a dealership in December and that business then sold the vehicle to an auto auction. The Acura was then purchased by a “buy here, pay here” lot who later sold it again.
“And the people who purchased the car never came back to finish the additional paperwork. They still owed the person money so the car has been out on the streets probably since February,” Lemma said.
In another twist, the Acura was towed from an apartment complex on March 19. According to law enforcement officials, the tow truck driver who towed the Acura was gunned down in Orange County on April 10.
Sheriff Lemma said a green Acura similar to the one involved in the carjacking was seen at the scene where the tow truck driver was shot. More than 100 rounds were fired during the shooting with “a good percentage” of the rounds being 10mm.
Lemma went on to explain that 10mm bullets were used to kill Aguasvivas in Osceola County, although her body has not been positively identified yet.
“An incredibly unique and uncommon round for us to see out on the streets,” Lemma said.
The Acura was then located on April 13, abandoned at an Orange County apartment complex, and again towed and transferred to the sheriff’s office to be evaluated.
Lemma said that when investigators called the phone number on the back of the carjacking victim’s SUV, her husband answered. Her husband and her brother, who both live in Homestead, provided deputies with “whatever information they could on the phone” before agreeing to travel to Central Florida to meet with investigators.
The two men then reached out to a mutual childhood friend, who happens to be the wife of an Orange County deputy.
“The wife of the Orange County deputy reached out and said, ‘I’ve been contacted by this person who is identified by name as a detective with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Can you find out whatever information you can about this particular person?’” Lemma said.
The deputy is accused of then calling Seminole County deputies, giving a false name and identifying himself as a detective with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office wanting to get information about this case.
“And our detectives obviously thought that that communication was strange, especially the timeliness of it. Just hours after we identify that we’re working a homicide case here,” Lemma said.
That deputy, identified as 33-year-old Francisco Estrella, and his wife are accused of illegally accessing law enforcement databases to pull up “the unique characteristics, home address, photographs, signatures of our primary detective working the case,” Lemma said.
Lemma said the communication between himself and detectives was recorded by Estrella and all of the information gathered, including the recorded call, was sent to Aguasvivas’ husband who was in transit to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Aguasvivas’ husband agreed to let investigators examine his phone and deputies then discovered the communication between himself and Estrella, the Orange County deputy.
“That is why he has now been charged with five felonies here in Seminole County. Two of those felonies deal with recording and releasing the audio file of the detectives conversation with him. Two of those charges relate to unlawfully accessing a police database,” Lemma said about Estrella.
Those involved in the shooting itself and the individuals in the green Acura have still not been identified at this time, according to deputies.
“We still have incredibly dangerous people that are out there on the streets. We still want to encourage our public to again not approach these individuals they should be perceived as armed and dangerous. Anybody who has any information about the occupants of this incredibly rare vehicle here in the state of Florida should contact authorities, either the Orange County Sheriff’s Office or the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
You can also anonymously call Crimeline at 800-423-8477 and be eligible for a reward.
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