FOP Lodge stabbings: Police continue search for fugitive suspects, offer $1,500 reward
May 17—Hamilton police are continuing to search for three men wanted for murder more than a week after a fatal stabbing at a teen girl's quinceañera at an FOP Lodge in Hamilton.
With plenty of witnesses in the rented party space on Joe Nuxhall Boulevard, Hamilton police say it was not a matter of who was responsible for the stabbing death of 20-year-old Ivan Isreal Diaz, but a matter of finding the suspects.
Last week, detectives filed murder warrants for the arrest of Juan Flores, 39, and Oscar, 19, along with 18-year-old Luis Eduardo Hidalgo Flores. Lt. Patrick Erb said Luis is Juan's son.
The Hamilton Police Department is offering a $1,500 reward for information that results in the arrest of each of the men.
Detectives say evidence points to one person stabbing all four victims and one firing a gun in the building, but all are complicit in the act that resulted in Diaz' death.
The surviving victims ― Adan Edgardo Segoviano Hernandez, 21, of Hamilton; Joaquin Tovar, 56, of Hamilton; and Jerson Estrada Medrano, 21, of Hamilton ― were treated for severe lacerations which were not life-threatening, police said.
A woman was booked into the Butler County Jail on Wednesday evening in connection with the stabbing.
Sara Elena Rodriguez-Remigio, 46, is charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice, according to Hamilton Sgt. Rich Burkhardt. She also has a holder for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to jail records.
Detectives say she is alleged to have hidden the knife believed to be the murder weapon.
Rodriguez-Remigio, of Pershing Avenue in Hamilton, is in the Butler County Jail and is scheduled to appearing in Hamilton Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing Thursday.
The stabbing incident that happened at FOP Lodge 38 on Joe Nuxhall Way late May 7 initially was reported to police as a shooting. Hamilton and Fairfield police officers and the Hamilton Fire Department were dispatched to the lodge where a quinceañera was taking place. That is a traditional birthday party on a girl's 15th birthday celebrated among Mexican and Latinx communities and families.
Some uninvited guests arrived at the party, and at one point, someone fired a gun into the air, according to witnesses who called 911.
Diaz died of a stab wound, police said. A male who called 911 said Diaz was bleeding badly from a neck wound.
"A fight broke out ... someone shot in the air. They chased him," the caller said. Other callers also reported a shooting victim and a person who called for the bartender inside said a gun had been fired.
Three others suffered stab wounds and were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
Mario Flores, cousin of Oscar and Juan, said the violence Saturday night is a case of fighting families that began in March with a violent incident in Hamilton County at a private party at a club on Harrison Road. He said Diaz was a close friend of the other family. Both members of that family and the Flores family were at the March party.
"One of my cousins got jumped by 10 plus people when they were leaving, and stabbed," Flores said. The cousin recovered but only with quick help from those nearby.
He said members of the other family were named as suspects in that incident and the investigation is ongoing. Members of the families along with friends showed up at the Hamilton party and a fight broke out.
According to Hamilton Police, Rodriguez-Remigio, who is Mario Flores' mother, hid the murder weapon for "the suspect" and lied to a police sergeant during the investigation. He said his mother was at the "wrong place at the wrong time" and cooperated with police.
Anyone with knowledge about the whereabouts of Juan, Luis and Oscar Flores is asked to contact Hamilton police at (513) 868-5811, ext. 2002, or call 911.
