Domestic partner of suspected Texas mass shooter who killed 5 neighbors also arrested
The longtime domestic partner of Francisco Oropesa, the man accused of killing five neighbors in a mass shooting Texas, has been arrested.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson said Divimara Lamar Nava, 53, was in custody. Initial reports wrongly said Lamar Nava and Oropesa were married.
The arrest comes after a four-day manhunt for Oropesa ended in his arrest on Tuesday following the Friday night shooting.
The sheriff said Lamar Nava had previously denied she knew where he was but now believe she hid him in the Conroe home where Oropesa was found, about 40 miles north of Houston. Police, acting on a tip, found him under a pile of laundry in a closet. He was taken into custody without incident and is expected to have his bond set at $5 million.
Nava was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon.
Investigators did not say whether other friends or family may have helped Oropesa while he was on the loose. Authorities did not disclose who owned the house where he was apprehended or if anyone else was in the house at the time, but said he has a personal connection to the home.
Oropesa, 38, allegedly opened fire on the victims at a Cleveland, Texas home late Friday night after being asked to stop shooting his AR-15 rifle so close to their home so their baby could sleep.
The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said police had been called to Oropesa’s home before about his shooting in his yard.
Tim Kean, chief deputy with the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, said at a press conference on Wednesday that other arrests related to the case had been made “but I can’t go into the details on that.”
He added that the weapon used in the shooting may have been recovered, but was awaiting ballistics.
Before Oropesa was arrested, several agencies and organizations had offered a $100,000 reward for information.
With News Wire Services
