New charges announced in deadly Florida carjacking investigation

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Updated  January 16, 2025 11:12am EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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US attorney announces new charges in deadly carjacking investigation

The U.S. attorney announced new charges in the deadly Seminole County carjacking investigation on Thursday morning.

ORLANDO, Fla. - US State Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced new federal charges filed in the deadly Seminole County carjacking investigation on Thursday morning.

A new 16-count federal indictment has charged seven individuals with offenses stemming from four years of drug trafficking and a series of armed robberies, culminating in the double homicides of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas on April 11, 2024, and Juan Luis Cintron Garcia, a tow truck driver, who was killed the day before in Orange County.

The announcement came after Kevin Ocasio-Justiniano, 29, one of the men charged in the carjacking and murder, pleaded guilty, admitting involvement in a broader criminal enterprise, according to federal court documents and testimony.

The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against him, but his guilty plea means he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Investigators say Ocasio-Justiniano was driving a green Acura that followed the victim, Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, in Winter Springs before the attack.

Watch the complete announcement in the above video player. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

The backstory:


Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, was carjacked on April 11, 2024, in Winter Springs and later found dead in Osceola County. 

Investigators allege Guerrero De Aguasvivas traveled from South Florida to Central Florida to collect $170,000 tied to drug trafficking.

Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas (left) and an image of her  alleged armed carjacking.

The case gained national attention after surveillance footage captured a masked suspect jumping out of a green car, carjacking another vehicle with Katherine still inside. 

Who are the primary suspects?

Four suspects were arrested in the months that followed, including Jordanish Torres-Garcia, 28; Kevin Ocasio-Justiniano, 27; Giovany Crespo Hernandez, 27; and Dereck Alexis Rodriguez Bonilla, 21. 
 

Jordanish Torres-Garcia was federally charged with carjacking resulting in death. The charges came after he was arrested on an unrelated warrant from a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Jordanish Torres-Garcia was the first person federally charged in the carjacking death. Detectives said he was linked to the crime when law enforcement discovered his connection to the purchase of a green Acura that reportedly followed and bumped Guerrero De Aguasvivas' car before the carjacking. Torres-Garcia was arrested on April 19 on a warrant for a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. 

Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Puerto Rico on April 22, 2024. He will be extradited to Central Florida to be federally charged with carjacking resulting in death. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Kevin Ocasio-Justiniano was linked to the investigation through a red Toyota Corolla that was seen in the same apartment complex where the green Acura was found abandoned after the carjacking. Surveillance video showed the Corolla arriving at the apartment complex to pick up the occupants of the green Acura, who appeared to be cleaning up the car and wiping it down. A records check of the Corolla came back to a relative of Ocasio-Justiniano. Authorities also believe Ocasio-Justiniano was the driver of the green Acura involved in the carjacking. Court documents also allege that Ocasio-Justiniano was recruited by Torres-Garcia to participate in the carjacking. On the day of Guerrero De Aguasvivas' death, investigators said they obtained surveillance footage from a gas station that showed both Ocasio-Justiniano and Torres-Garcia buying lighter fluid. This lighter fluid would eventually be poured on Guerrero De Aguasvivas' body in the moments before her death, the documents said. 

Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez was taken into custody on unrelated drug charges in Seminole County on April 22, 2024. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez was identified as a person of interest early on in the investigation due to the fact that he was the last person to speak to Guerrero De Aguasvivas on the day of her carjacking and death. Federal court documents reveal that it was his idea to carjack and rob the woman in the first place. A search warrant was executed on Crespo Hernandez's home in Casselberry, which yielded the discovery of fentanyl, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, nearly $14,000 in cash, drug packaging materials, two guns, magazines, ammunition and ski masks, according to an arrest affidavit. Crespo Hernandez was taken into custody on April 22 on these drug charges. 

Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla was indicted for carjacking resulting in death on June 6, 2024. (Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla was recruited into the alleged conspiracy to carjack and rob Guerrero De Aguasvivas by Torres Garcia, according to court documents. Prosecutors say that on the day of the carjacking, Rodriguez Bonilla allegedly provided a 10mm firearm – what feds call the "murder weapon" – to Ocasio-Justiniano. Investigators said this was the gun that was used to kill Guerrero De Aguasvivas.

Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband indicted

Guerrero De Aguasvivas' husband, Miguel Aguasvivas-Lizardo, was indicted in November by federal prosecutors, accused of actions that allegedly contributed to her tragic death.

U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg addressed the link between Miguel Aguasvivas and his wife’s death.

"Katherine Aguasvivas was put in harm’s way," Handberg said. "Anytime anyone is involved in drug trafficking, whether distributing drugs themselves or involved in money, what I've seen from over two decades as a federal prosecutor is violence often goes hand in hand."

Investigators believe Aguasvivas-Lizardo also traveled from South Florida to Central Florida to pick up drug money. Feds said her husband was also part of the operation.

"He and others would travel up from South Florida to here in Orlando. They would pick up currency in bulk and bring it back down to South Florida," Handberg said.

Suspects would then convert the cash into cryptocurrency and give it over to drug organizations, he said.

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The Source: This story was written based on information taken from documents and testimony submitted before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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