WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — Suspects face new charges linked to the carjacking and murder of a mother in Winter Springs last April, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

A federal grand jury has returned a 16-count federal indictment that charges several suspects with crimes like murder, home invasions and cocaine trafficking between Florida and Puerto Rico from 2020-24, according to federal officials.

What You Need To Know

  • Suspects face new charges linked to the carjacking and murder of a mother in Winter Springs

  • Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was murdered, following a carjacking on April 11, 2024

  • Federal agents are still following up on leads as the investigation continues.

On April 11, 2024, Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was killed, following a carjacking in broad daylight. The carjacking was caught on camera, and the video eventually led police to the suspects in that murder. Jordanish Torres Garcia, Kevin Omar Ocasio Justiniano, Giovany Crespo Hernandez and Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla were charged in connection with Guerrero De Aguasvivas' murder, federal officials said.

Before that carjacking, she had picked up $170,000 from the home of Crespo Hernandez, court records indicate. The carjacking occurred after she drove away from the home. She was robbed of the money, taken to a construction site, shot and set afire inside her SUV, according to investigators.

On April 10, tow truck driver Juan Luis Cintron Garcia was killed as part of a robbery in Taft. He had towed the 2002 green Acura used in the carjacking of Guerrero De Aguasvivas from an Orange County apartment complex where it was found parked illegally on March 19, according to federal investigators. The green Acura later was connected to the killing of Cintron Garcia. Justiniano is suspected of being the driver of that same green Acura that followed Guerrero De Aguasvivas' SUV after the carjacking.

Miguel Aguasvivas Lizardo, the husband of Guerrero De Aguasvivas, also is among those who face federal charges in connection with a larger case. Anneliz Colon de Jesus, Sonic Torres and Cesar Silva Fernandez also were indicted last week.

The federal violations in the indictment tell a story of a violent drug trafficking organization linked to Puerto Rico and Central Florida, according to U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida.

“A story of drug trafficking, money laundering and the violence that those activities bring about," Handberg said. "The murder of Ms. Aguasvivas was not a random act. It is a story that began in 2020 and that played out four years later with her brutal murder. ...

“But it was not an isolated incident. The perpetrators of her murder have a long history of violence.” 

Guerrero De Aguasvivas often picked up and delivered drug sales cash between South Florida and Central Florida, according to court records.

“They valued personal profit over human life,” said Deanne L. Reuter, the Drug Enforcement Agency special agent in charge at the Miami field division.

Law enforcement first became aware of this drug trafficking organization, which also involves the use of firearms, in 2020, federal officials said.

“These organizations are like spiderwebs,” Handberg said.

So, why weren’t they captured before?

Officials say the answer will be played out in federal court.

“We do the very best we can to bring charges that will be sustained in court,” Handberg said. “This level of brutality and violence is something that’s going to get the full response of the United States government.”

Several defendants are pending trial.

Justiniano on Wednesday pleaded guilty to multiple weapons and gun charges and is scheduled to be sentenced April 15.

The feds are still following up on leads as the investigation continues.