Man accused of murdering neighbors found under pile of dirty laundry

Francisco Oropesa Photo: FBI

A four-day hunt for a man accused of killing five of his neighbors, including a child, ended on Tuesday when police found a suspect hiding under a pile of dirty clothes in the closet of a Texas home. Francisco Oropesa, 38, was captured about 20 miles from his home in rural Cleveland, California. where the authorities say he went into the neighborhood and shot at his neighbors with an AR type rifle.

The victims had previously asked him to stop shooting in the yard because it was keeping the child awake. “Now they can sleep peacefully because he is behind bars,” San Jacinto County Greg Capers said of the families of the victims. «He will live his life behind bars for killing those five.»

Looking for Shooters. Photo: AP Photo

Drones and tracking dogs were used during an extended search that included combing through dense forests several miles from the scene. Gov. Greg Abbott offered a $50,000 reward as the search dragged on until the end of the weekend.

On a public tip, police found a man in a house near Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston.

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FBI spokesman Connor Hagan said the three agencies that proceeded to arrest Mr. Oropeza were the US Marshals, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the US Border Patrol BORTAC team.

According to US immigration officials, Mr. Oropesa is a Mexican citizen who has been deported four times.

Mr Capers said that prior to Friday's shooting at the suspect's home, police assistants were called at least once more because of the shooting in his yard.

The victims were all from Honduras. Wilson Garcia, who survived the shooting, said friends and relatives at the house tried to hide and protect themselves and the children after Mr. Oropesa approached the house and started shooting, killing his wife first at the front door.

Neighbors are picketing. Photo: AP Photo

In offering the award, Mr. Abbott called the victims «illegal immigrants.» a partly false claim that his office had returned and apologized for Monday after sparking widespread backlash over drawing attention to their immigration status. Abbott's spokeswoman, René Eze, said they have since learned that one of the victims may have been in the country legally.

The victims were identified as Diana Velasquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; José Jonathan Casares, 18; Sonya Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

Osman Velasquez, Diana's father, said on Tuesday that his daughter had recently received a residence permit.

«Her sister convinced me to let her take my daughter. She told me that the United States is a land of opportunity, and it's true.» He said. "But I never thought it was just for that"