ORLANDO, Fla. — A man wanted in connection with the death of a Winter Garden teen who went missing and prompted an Amber Alert has been taken into custody in Connecticut, police say.
- Officials: Man was being sheltered by friends, relatives
- He was wanted in connection to teen's disappearance, death
- RELATED:
Winter Garden Police said Wednesday that Luis Rivera Jr. was found hiding in the basement of a home in Connecticut. Police said extended family and friends helped him hide from authorities.
Rivera is accused of killing 16-year-old Bruce Haggins Jr.
In May, a missing-and-endangered alert was issued for Haggins, who was thought to have been kidnapped. An Amber Alert was issued.
Haggins's body was found several days later in the Wedgefield community of Orange County.
Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police, New Britain (Connecticut) Police, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement worked together to find Rivera.
Rivera was extradited Tuesday and is now in the Orange County Jail on no bond.
Rivera Jr.'s father Luis Mario Rivera Sr. was charged with tampering with evidence in the case. A police report also alleges Rivera Sr. burned Haggin’s clothes and buried his body in a shallow grave to help his son.
It’s hard for Bruce Haggins Sr., Haggins Jr.'s father, to imagine why another father would allegedly be an accessory to his son’s murder.
“I’m gonna pray for y’all, both of y’all, because y’all gone need prayer," he said. “I just hope and pray that justice going to be served to the fullest.”
