(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) More illegal immigrants who are confirmed Venezuelan Tren De Aragua prison gang members continue to be arrested for committing violent crimes in Texas.
Three Venezuelan men, all in the country illegally, were the latest to be arrested on capital murder and aggravated kidnapping charges that are believed to have occurred in Farmers Branch, a northwestern suburb of Dallas.
Two suspects were arrested in Aurora, Colorado; one was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico. All three are being extradited to Texas. A fourth remains at large.
All five Venezuelan men are believed to be part of a national ATM theft ring, Farmers Branch Police Department announced this week.
The three who were arrested were charged with the capital murder of 33-year-old Nilzult Petit, also a confirmed TDA gang member.
The arrests are connected to Petit’s August 24, 2024, murder. Farmers Branch police officers found his body with a single gunshot wound to the head. FBPD and Lewisville PD officers also found two juveniles believed to be known to Petit who were found in the early morning hours on the same day walking along the I-35 service road in Lewisville.
Upon recovering them, the officers learned that “Petit and the two juveniles had been forcibly taken by several unknown suspects from an apartment complex on Fair Oaks Crossing in Dallas around 12:30 a.m. The suspects drove Petit and the juveniles to the location in Farmers Branch, where Petit was subsequently shot and killed. The suspects then fled the scene with the two juveniles in a light-colored four-door sedan before releasing the juveniles, unharmed, on the IH-35E service road,” FBPD said in a statement.
Through an extensive investigation, FBPD detectives were able to initially identify two suspects who they believe were Petit’s associates allegedly involved in a complex ATM theft operation targeting several locations nationwide. After the latest ATM theft offense, “the suspects accused Petit of withholding portions of the stolen money” from others in the theft ring. They reportedly confronted Petit and demanded payment, “which he was unwilling or unable to provide. Petit and the two juveniles were then forcibly taken from” their apartment complex, driven to the area in Farmers Branch where he was murdered execution style, FBPD said.
The investigation led FBPD detectives to Aurora, Colorado, where they traveled in September to interview two suspects. They were already in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. They were subsequently charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping and are awaiting extradition to Texas.
Working with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, detectives were also able identify a third suspect, believed to be the alleged mastermind of the ATM theft operation. On Oct. 11, he was apprehended in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on outstanding warrants for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping out of Dallas County. He is also currently awaiting extradition.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives also confirmed that Petit and all of the suspects are affiliated with TDA and the murder isn’t related to any other investigation or criminal case in Farmers Branch.
A fourth suspect, Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, 29, remains at large. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the FBPD, including anonymously, at 972-919-1406 or [email protected].
FBPD is actively working with numerous law enforcement agencies, which it says “were instrumental in the investigation, search for, tracking of, and apprehension of the capital murder suspects.”
Federal agencies involved in the case include DHS HSI; ICE; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; and U.S. Secret Service.
State agencies involved in the case include Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center; Colorado Bureau of Investigations; Colorado State Police; and the South Dakota Prosecutor’s Office. County agencies include Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Campbell County, Wyoming; Meade County, South Dakota; Dona Ana County, New Mexico; and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.
City agencies include the Dallas Police Department; Aurora Police Department; Gillette, Wyoming, Police Department; Middleburg Heights, Ohio, Police Department; Belle Fourche, South Dakota, Police Department; Oklahoma City Police Department; Lawton, Oklahoma, Police Department; Irving Police Department; Greenville Police Department; and Carrollton Police Department.
The multi-agency operation was underway as Gov. Greg Abbott launched an initiative to crack down on TDA crimes that have exploded under the Biden-Harris administration. He also designated the TDA as a foreign terrorist organization.
Texas DPS is also offering up to $5,000 in rewards for information that leads to TDA gang member arrests. DPS and city law enforcement operations continue to successfully target TDA crime in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, The Center Square reported.
The news comes as more than one million Venezuelans have been reported illegally entering the country under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
