2 persons of interest identified in Seminole County carjacking, kidnapping investigation: Sheriff

SANFORD, Fla. - A "person of interest" possibly connected to the carjacking and kidnapping of a woman in Winter Springs has been arrested, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said Friday. He also named a second person of interest who is wanted by authorities while a third unnamed person remains on the run.

Jordanish Torres-Garcia, 28, was taken into custody on Friday afternoon on a federal felony warrant related to weapons possession in an unrelated case. Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez, 27, is being sought on an active warrant for fentanyl trafficking.

Torres-Garcia is alleged to have a connection to the carjacking of 31-year-old Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, Sheriff Lemma said.

Guerrero De Aguasvivas was carjacked at gunpoint by a masked person at an intersection in Winter Springs on Thursday, April 11, which happened to be recorded by a witness. That video showed a person stepping out of a green Acura with a gun and entering her vehicle. The woman's vehicle was later found engulfed in flames in Osceola County, where a body – presumed to be hers – was found inside, officials said.

Here is the latest on the investigation.

Who is Jordanish Torres-Garcia?

Sheriff Lemma named Jordanish Torres-Garcia as a person of interest in the woman's alleged carjacking. He said Torres-Garcia appears to have a connection to the purchase of the green 2002 Acura vehicle that was reportedly following and bumping into Katherine's car before the carjacking.

Sheriff Lemma said Garcia-Torres' phone number matched the phone number of the person who bought the green Acura — one of three green 2002 Acura vehicles in the state. An online social media profile picture proved to be a 98% match to an old arrest photo, and the clothing in his Facebook profile closely resembles the clothing of the suspect in the video of the carjacking, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Lemma said the phone number was also linked to a previous Orange County burglary report. 

Sheriff Lemma said a direct connection, if any, between Torres-Garcia and the woman is not yet known. Garcia-Torres has also not been arrested or charged with any crime directly related to the case.

"We have not made the connection yet with Jordan as far as this. So to answer the question of why, if this is our shooter, why he would target her? I can't answer that question yet."

Sheriff Lemma said a Facebook profile under the name "Jordan LaTroy" had contacted a car dealership on Facebook Marketplace to purchase a green Acura.

Torres-Garcia was arrested just after 12 p.m. on Friday.

His arrest warrant stems from a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico, Sheriff Lemma said. 

Who is Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez?

Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez was also named a "person of interest" and is wanted by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Lemma said Crespo Hernandez has a home in Casselberry, where he lives with his girlfriend.

According to Lemma, Katherine's brother, Luis, started his own investigation after his sister was reportedly kidnapped. As part of that investigation, he apparently looked into her social media and iCloud history.

He was able to find a number through which his sister had apparently conducted a FaceTime phone call. Her brother made a FaceTime call to that phone number, talked to Crespo Hernandez, took a screenshot during the call, and provided that screenshot to the sheriff's office, Sheriff Lemma said. 

Sheriff Lemma said that number ultimately belonged to Crespo Hernandez.

During their call, Crespo Hernandez reportedly told the woman's brother that she was in town to give "money and other stuff" to someone. Sheriff Lemma said that while initially it was not believed that the woman had family in Central Florida, there may be some relatives here; however, neither was expecting her arrival.

Officials conducted a search warrant of the Casselberry home and found fentanyl and a gun, both believed to be unrelated to the carjacking investigation.

Coincidentally, Crespo Hernandez's girlfriend was later arrested in Osceola County on federal charges after allegedly receiving a delivery of cocaine via the USPS. 

A third unknown suspect

The third suspect — the person driving the green Acura in the video — is still unaccounted for, and few details are available about who that person is.

Sheriff Lemma said on Friday that they do not know who that person is. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Seminole County Sheriff's Office or Crimeline.

Why was Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas targeted?

Sheriff Lemma said Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, of Homestead, Florida, was obviously targeted, though the reason why is not known.

Her husband told sheriff's detectives that she told him she was in town to visit family. However, Sheriff Lemma said Friday it appears she does have family in town, though those family members were not expecting a visit from her.

Sheriff Lemma said that her husband and brother are cooperating with detectives. At this point, neither is considered a person of interest nor a suspect in the case. Both also willingly provided their phones to detectives. 

Orange County sheriff's deputy released on bond

The press conference comes just one day after a judge granted Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Francisco Estrella Chicon bond after allegedly impersonating a high-ranking deputy to gain information about the murder case.

Estrella Chicon, 33, was arrested amid the Seminole County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the carjacking, kidnapping, and alleged murder of a South Florida woman in Winter Springs.

Investigators allege that Chicon used law enforcement resources to contact one of the detectives investigating the death of Guerrero De Aguasvivas and allegedly provided information on the investigation to her husband.

Estrella Chicon, who was hired by the Orange County Sheriff's Office in September 2022, was arrested and booked into the Seminole County jail on five charges:

• Interception of wire, oral, or electronic communication
• Disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communication
• Disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information
• Unlawful use of a two-way communication device
• Accessing computer or electronic devices without authorization or exceeding authorization

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma told reporters at a previous press conference that the Orange County deputy's wife is apparently childhood friends with Katherine's husband and brother.

As the two were headed to Seminole County, Katherine's husband or brother contacted the deputy's wife and asked them to pull information on the Seminole County detective in charge of the case, Sheriff Lemma said. 

The Orange County deputy allegedly searched the detective's home address, phone number, and other information and sent it to the husband and brother. 

Lemma said there are no more updates about Estrella Chicon's arrest. 

The Green Acura connection to an unsolved shooting in Orange County

In another twist, the green Acura has a connection to a deadly shooting at an apartment complex in Orange County, which happened the day before the carjacking in Winter Springs.

Tow truck driver Juan Luis Cintron-Garcia was shot and killed on April 10, officials said. Few details about that shooting, such as possible suspects or a motive, are unknown at this time.

However, Cintron-Garcia towed the green Acura from an apartment complex on March 19. Again, Sheriff Lemma said the green Acura is unique in that there were only three registered in the entire state of Florida. The two others were salvaged.

There were more than 100 rounds at the crime scene, with many of them being 10mm – similar to the rounds found at the Osceola County scene where Aguasvivas' car was found torched.

However, it's unclear if Cintron-Garcia is connected to the woman or to the persons of interest.