Florida

New federal charges in drug trafficking ring linked to Homestead woman's murder

Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was carjacked, abducted and murdered on April 11, 2024

NBC Universal, Inc.

New federal charges have been filed and a suspect has pleaded guilty in connection with a drug trafficking ring and the brazen abduction and murder of a Homestead woman in central Florida last year, prosecutors said.

The new 16-count indictment charges seven people in connection with the drug ring and crime spree that dates back to at least 2020 and culminated in the murder of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Roger Handberg said in a news release Thursday.

Watch NBC6 free wherever you are

Watch button  WATCH HERE

The 31-year-old woman had been driving north from Homestead and stopped at an intersection in Winter Springs in Seminole County back on April 11, 2024, when shocking witness video showed her being held at gunpoint and abducted in broad daylight.

Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.

Newsletter button  SIGN UP

Hours after the carjacking, Aguasvivas' body was found inside her burned-out vehicle at a deserted construction area in another Orlando-area county. She had been shot multiple times.

According to federal court documents, Aguasvivas had been traveling to a home in Casselberry to retrieve around $170,000 in illegal drug trafficking proceeds.

The carjacking was organized to get the money back from her, the documents said.

Four men - Kevin Ocasio Justiano, Jordanish Torres Garcia, Giovany Crespo Hernandez, and Dereck Alexis Rodriguez Bonilla - were previously charged with carjacking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing the death of Aguasvivas.

A massive investigation involving multiple federal agencies is continuing into the suspects arrested in connection with the fatal armed carjacking and abduction of a Homestead woman that was caught on camera in central Florida earlier this month.

Torres Garcia was also charged with possession of ammunition in a homicide in Taft, Florida, the night before Aguasvivas' killing. In that killing, authorities said a tow truck driver who'd towed the Acura used in the abduction of Aguasvivas was found murdered in a hail of bullets.

Crespo Hernandez and his girlfriend, Monicsabel Romero Soto, were charged with drug crimes occurring on April 17, 2024.

The new indictment brings those charges together for one single trial and "encompasses years of dealing in drugs and drug proceeds along with multiple robberies culminating in the events of April 10 and 11, 2024," prosecutors said.

In addition to the new indictment, Justiano pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges in Aguasvivas' death and drug and firearms charges dating back to 2022, prosecutors said.

Katherine Aguasvivas' vehicle on fire and destroyed on April 11, 2024.
Katherine Aguasvivas' vehicle on fire and destroyed on April 11, 2024.

In his plea agreement, Justiano admitted to distributing "dealer packs" of fentanyl and cocaine in 2022, and to participating in an armed home invasion robbery in the Poinciana area with Torres Garcia and his brother, Sonic Torres.

Justiano also admitted to planning the carjacking and kidnapping of Aguasvivas with Torres Garcia, saying he received $60,000 for his participation.

He said he bought lighter fluid and drove Torres Garcia's car while Torres Garcia committed the abduction and went to the scene where Aguasvivas was killed and burned.

Authorities said surveillance images captured Jordanish Torres-Garcia and Kevin Ocasio Justiano buying lighter fluid the day Katherine Aguasvivas was murdered and had her body set on fire.
Authorities said surveillance images captured Jordanish Torres-Garcia and Kevin Ocasio Justiano buying lighter fluid the day Katherine Aguasvivas was murdered and had her body set on fire.

Under the plea deal, Justiano faces a minimum penalty of life in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Sonic Torres is charged with Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a robbery. The seventh suspect, Cesar Silva Fernandez, is charged with Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm during a robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In November, it was learned that Aguasvivas' husband, Miguel Angel Aguasvivas Lizardo, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to engage in money laundering in connection with a drug trafficking organization.

According to court records, the FBI in 2021 investigated a drug trafficking organization and found Aguasvivas Lizardo had "acted as a money courier for hundreds of thousands of dollars on multiple occasions."

The organization was trafficking cocaine and laundering the proceeds by purchasing cryptocurrency, the records said.

Months after a Homestead woman was carjacked, abducted and murdered in central Florida in what authorities believe was related to a drug trafficking ring, the woman's husband is now facing money laundering charges.

In 2022, the DEA seized over $273,000 in cash and two firearms from Aguasvivas Lizardo's vehicle, records showed.

Earlier in 2024, the DEA began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization in Colombia and discovered Lizardo and a co-conspirator had arranged "money drops" involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, the records said.

One of those drops was supposed to happen the day of Aguasvivas' killing.

"On April 11, 2024, a money drop was expected for between $160,000.00 to $170,000.00. The drop never occurred," the court records said. "Later it was discovered that the Defendant’s wife traveled to Orlando to pick up the money but was carjacked and brutally murdered."

Aguasvivas Lizardo hasn't been charged in connection with his wife's death.

Contact Us