Texas murder suspect on the loose after escaping before court appearance
Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office
(VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas) — A murder suspect is on the loose in north Texas after allegedly removing his ankle monitor before a court appearance, according to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.
Trevor McEuen was due in court on Monday for a murder charge in Kaufman County, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Kaufman County, which is east of Dallas, has an active warrant for bail revocation for capital murder for McEuen, officials said.
“If you are aware of anything suspicious in the area, please contact 911. Do not attempt to apprehend McEuen,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Our number one priority is the safety of all citizens of Van Zandt County. We are working diligently with our partner agencies to ensure the safety of all our citizens,” Sheriff Kevin Bridger said in a statement.
McEuen is accused of shooting his neighbor to death in May 2023, according to Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA. Aaron Martinez, 35, was found dead in his truck, which had been riddled with bullets.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, had called for hate crime charges when the shooting happened, saying, “Three weeks ago, Aaron Martinez was murdered in cold blood by a man who wanted to drive Hispanics out of Kaufman County. … If Kaufman County authorities continue to drag their feet on filing hate crimes charges against Trevor McEuen, federal prosecutors need to step in to ensure that justice is served.”
McEuen was arrested again in September 2024 after he posted a photo of Martinez and Martinez’s uncle on Instagram and threatened to shoot the uncle.
ABC News’ Bonnie McLean contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — A soccer coach has been charged with murder after a 13-year-old on his team was reported missing by his family and later found dead, officials announced on Monday.
Oscar Omar Hernandez, of the San Fernando Valley, was reported missing by his family on March 30 after he “failed to return home from visiting an acquaintance in Lancaster,” Los Angeles police said last week.
The teen had gone to visit his soccer coach — 43-year-old Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino — two days earlier, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Oscar was found dead on Wednesday in the city of Oxnard, west of Los Angeles, off to the side of a road near Leo Carrillo State Beach, Hochman said.
Garcia-Aquino was charged with murder with special circumstances on Monday, Hochman said.
The suspect has separately also been charged with a felony count of assault with intent to commit a lewd act against a 16-year-old boy, Hochman said. Garcia-Aquino was arrested on Wednesday on that charge, which stemmed from an alleged incident in Palmdale on Feb. 22, 2024, authorities said.
“These cases are tragic, and the Hernandez family, you have our deepest sympathy for a loss that words cannot even begin to describe,” Hochman said at a press briefing on Monday. “Our role, though, is to bring justice to this family and to hold the person responsible for these brutal, heinous, unspeakable, unthinkable acts, hold them accountable and prosecute and punish them to the full extent of the law.”
Hochman said he does not have any details on how Oscar was killed at this time.
Garcia-Aquino is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Hochman said.
If convicted, the suspect faces a sentence of at least life without the possibility of parole for the murder charge or the death penalty, Hochman said. He also faces six years in prison if convicted of the assault charge, Hochman said.
Authorities are asking any alleged victims of the suspect or anyone with information to come forward.
“There’s always a fear that there’s more victims, and we want to make sure we account for everybody that’s out there,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at the briefing.
Garcia-Aquina was a youth travel soccer coach with a boys’ soccer club in the Sylmar area, according to Luna. He had no reported criminal history, the sheriff said.
“If for some reason anybody fears coming forward, even as a youth or a family, because you may be here undocumented, we’re not going to ask about that,” Luna said. “Please. You need to come forward. We will assist you — whether it’s our department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the LA County District Attorney’s Office — any of us are going to wrap our arms around you and make sure that you get the appropriate services. We guide you the right way and we protect you as well.”
Oscar’s family members attended the press briefing but did not make a public comment.
Family and friends of Oscar paid tribute to the teen on Thursday at the site where the body was found on the side of a road in Oxnard.
“He didn’t need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,” his mother, Gladys Bautista, cried out in Spanish, ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC reported.
(BALTIMORE) — A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador, whose removal violated a previous court settlement, according to an order issued on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, also ordered the government not to remove other individuals covered by the settlement.
The class action case from 2019 was filed on behalf of individuals who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors and later sought asylum.
The group sued the government to be able to have their asylum applications adjudicated while they remained in the United States. The parties settled in 2024.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs say the Trump administration, in breach of the settlement agreement, removed one of the class members — referred to using the pseudonym “Cristian” in court records — to El Salvador on March 15 when it deported three planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison there.
In an opinion filed Wednesday, Judge Gallagher referenced the case of wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and said that “like Judge [Paula] Xinis in the Abrego Garcia matter, this court will order Defendants to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties’ binding Settlement Agreement.”
The judge’s order was first reported by ABC News. Judge Gallagher said that facilitating Cristian’s return requires the defendants “making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador and to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”
Gallagher called the deportation a “breach of contract.”
“At bottom, this case, unlike other cases involving the government’s removal of individuals under the Alien Enemies Act, is a contractual dispute because of the Settlement Agreement,” attorneys for the plaintiff said, referring to the 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process.
The Trump administration, according to the order, contends that the removal of Cristian did not violate the settlement because “his designation as an alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member.”
In a sworn declaration, an official for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that Cristian was arrested in January for possession of cocaine.
“On January 6, 2025, [“Cristian”] was convicted in the 482nd District Court at Harris County, Texas for the offense of possession of cocaine, a Texas state jail felony,” said Robert Cerna, the Acting Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Cerna said that following the invocation of the AEA, ICE determined that Cristian was subject to removal.
“On March 15, 2025, [“Cristian”] was removed under the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. Ch. 3, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10,903, as a Venezuelan citizen 14 years of age or older who is a member of TdA,” Cerna said, referring to the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua.
“Allegations that Class Members, like Cristian, are subject to the AEA do not exclude those individuals from the Class under the plain terms of the Settlement Agreement,” attorneys for the plaintiff argued.
Counsel for the class of migrants also alleged in court filings that another Venezuelan man, identified as an 18-year-old named Javier in the court records, was in imminent danger of being deported earlier this month.
Judge Gallagher determined that Javier was covered by the settlement agreement and entered a temporary restraining order prohibiting the government from removing him from the United States.
(DALLAS) — “Numerous” homemade explosive devices were discovered by a citizen who was walking near a park outside of Dallas, according to authorities.
The person was in a wooded area near Wynne Park in Garland, when, around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, they saw an open suitcase and items scattered near it — including what looked like explosives, the Garland Police Department said.
Garland is about 20 miles northeast of Dallas.
The Garland Police Bomb Unit and FBI bomb technicians rushed to the scene and determined “there were numerous live homemade explosive devices,” police said.
“Bomb technicians worked through the day and into the night to safely render each device inoperative,” police said in a statement Monday.
No injuries were reported.
Police said authorities are still working to establish where the devices came from and the suspect’s intent.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Garland Police Department at 972-485-4840 or Garland Crime Stoppers at 972-272-TIPS (8477). Garland Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $5,000, police said.
