The wife of the man suspected of gunning down five of his neighbors in Texas has now also been arrested in connection with the mass shooting, authorities said Wednesday.
Francisco Oropesa’s wife Divimara Lamar Nava, 53, was taken into custody early Wednesday at a home in Conroe, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson said.
Nava had previously denied knowledge of her husband’s whereabouts in the wake of the Friday night massacre, but cops now allege she actually hid him as the four-day manhunt for him was underway.
San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon told reporters that while Nava appeared to be cooperating with police, she was actually playing both sides.
Acting on a tip, officers found Oropesa hiding beneath a pile of laundry in the closet of a Conroe home on Tuesday evening.
Nava is accused of helping Oropesa by “providing material aid and encouragement, food, clothes, and arranged transport” to the home police eventually found him in.
San Jacinto County Chief Deputy Tim Kean said it appeared Oropesa was settling into his hideout because “he thought he was in a safe spot.”
Oropesa, a Mexican national who officials say has been deported from the US four times, is set to be charged with five counts of murder.
His wife is being held on a felony charge of hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon. She is being held on a $250,000 bond.
Divimara Lamar Nava was taken into custody early Wednesday. APAuthorities haven’t confirmed who owned the house, if Oropesa knew them or if anyone else was inside when he was located.
Along with Nava, Dillon confirmed that a second person has been arrested in connection with helping hide Oropesa. Officials have only identified the man as a friend of Oropesa who was taken into custody for possession of drugs.
The area where Oropesa and his wife were both nabbed is roughly 20 miles from where the massacre unfolded in the rural town of Cleveland.
Oropesa is accused of shooting dead his neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, after they asked him to stop firing off shots in his Cleveland yard shortly before midnight Friday, authorities said.
After the neighbors called 911 several times, Oropesa allegedly went next door and opened fire on them with an AR-style rifle.
Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested in Conroe after a tip alerted law enforcement to the fugitive’s whereabouts, authorities said.
Drones and scent-tracking dogs were brought in to help during the frenzied manhunt for Oropesa after he fled in the wake of the shooting, authorities said.
An $80,000 reward was on offer for information leading to the suspect’s capture.
The tip that finally ended the manhunt came in at about 5:15 p.m. and Oropesa was taken into custody about an hour later, according to authorities.
Nava had previously denied knowledge of her husband’s whereabouts in the wake of the Friday night massacre. APAn FBI spokesman said they wouldn’t disclose the identity of the tipster.
The five victims — Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9 – were all from Honduras.
With Post wires
