Three men police say are part of a Venezuelan gang are facing kidnapping and capital murder charges after allegedly abducting a man and two juveniles before executing him in Dallas two months ago.
Farmers Branch police say 38-year-old Ehiker Alexander Morales Mendoza, 25-year-old Carlos Luis Zambrano Bolivar, and 22-year-old Jhonata Nahin Toro Gonzalez have been charged with capital murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping in the Aug. 24 death of 33-year-old Nilzult Arneaud Petit.
Law enforcement officials believe there’s one more suspect out there, 29-year-old Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, who is still at large.
Investigators said abductors forcibly took Petit and two juveniles from an apartment complex on Fair Oaks Crossing in Dallas at about 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 24.
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According to the Farmers Branch Police Department, the suspects took Petit to the 1100 block of Valley View Lane, where he was fatally shot in the head.
Police said the murderers then left the area with the juveniles, who were later found by Lewisville police officers unharmed and walking along the Interstate 35-E service road after being dropped off near Corporate Drive.
Petit's body was spotted by a passerby a few hours later, around 3:40 a.m., and that's when police responded to the scene.
Authorities said they identified Zambrano Bolivar and Toro Gonzalez as suspects, revealing that they had a connection to Petit through a sophisticated ATM theft operation targeting multiple locations across the United States.
Farmers Branch police said they believe the suspects and Petit were affiliated with the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua.
Following an alleged theft, tensions reportedly escalated between Petit and the suspects, who accused Petit of withholding a share of the stolen money. In response, they allegedly kidnapped Petit and the two juveniles, ultimately leading to Petit’s murder.
A month after Petit's death, detectives went to Aurora, Colorado, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained Bolivar and Gonzalez. They are waiting to be extradited to Texas.
Officials said further investigation led them to identify Morales Mendoza as a third suspect, who was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Oct. 11. It was suspected that Mendoza was the ringleader of the ATM theft operation.
The Farmers Branch Police Department asks anyone with information about Serrano’s whereabouts to reach out by phone at 972-919-1406 or via email at pdinfoandtips@farmersbranchtx.gov. Any tip can be kept anonymous.
