$2.5M bond set for Border Patrol agent accused of killing four

Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful restraint on Sept. 15, 2018, in Laredo. Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful restraint on Sept. 15, 2018, in Laredo. Photo: Courtesy /Webb County Photo: Courtesy /Webb County Image 1 of / 63 Caption Close $2.5M bond set for Border Patrol agent accused of killing four 1 / 63 Back to Gallery

The Border Patrol agent accused of killing four sex workers in Webb County over a two-week period remained behind bars Sunday, held on a $2.5 million bond.

Juan David Ortiz was charged Saturday night with four murder counts, plus aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint.

Criminal complaints filed in connection with the charges detail the slaying of each victim and how his arrest unfolded.

At about 9 p.m. Friday, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was at a gas station in the 600 block of Crossroads Street, near Interstate 35 and Loop 20, when a shirtless woman approached him asking for help.

READ ALSO: Relatives mourn the loss of victims slain in Laredo by what police call a serial killer

The woman, Erika Peña, told the trooper that a man she knew as David had picked her up on San Bernardo Avenue. She said David, who was later identified as Juan David Ortiz, took her to his house in the San Isidro ranch subdivision. While at his home, Ortiz acted strangely when she began to speak about Melissa Ramirez, who she knew had been found dead the week before.

The complaint states that Peña then got sick and vomited in the front yard.

The two left his home in his white Dodge pickup truck and stopped at a gas station near Loop 20 and McPherson Road, the complaint states.

At the gas station, Peña said she and Ortiz began talking about Ramirez again, according to the complaint. Ortiz then allegedly pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her. Peña told law enforcement that she tried to leave the vehicle but that he grabbed her shirt to prevent her from leaving.

She began to scream for help, the complaint states.

"Erika pulled off her shirt, allowing her to escape and run away from the vehicle," according to the record.

READ ALSO: Arrest affidavit details murders of Laredo 'serial killer'

Peña said she saw a trooper refueling at the gas station. She ran toward him asking for help.

While being questioned at a Sheriff's Office substation, she told Texas Ranger EJ Salinas and Webb County Sheriff's Office Capt. Federico Calderon that she knew the location of Ortiz's home.

She drove with them to his residence in the 200 block of Bur Oak Drive.

Calderon searched the property and noted that its owner was Juan David Ortiz.

At about 12:10 a.m. Saturday, a lookout was issued for Ortiz and his white Dodge pickup truck.

About an hour later, troopers located the suspect vehicle at a gas station at San Bernardo Avenue and Jefferson Street. As they approached Ortiz, he allegedly fled on foot.

At about 2:30 a.m., Texas Rangers and the Sheriff's Office found Ortiz hiding in the parking garage of Hotel Ava, 800 Garden St. He was arrested on an evading arrest charge.

READ ALSO: Prosecutor: Border Patrol agent charged with murdering 4

During an interview with Calderon and Salinas, Ortiz gave a verbal confession to pointing the firearm at Peña and killing four people between Sept. 3 and Sept. 15, the complaint states.

According to the document, Ortiz discussed how he killed each victim. Investigators would learn that he had picked up and fatally shot two more victims after Peña fled from his vehicle earlier that night.

Ortiz told Salinas and Calderon that on Sept. 3, he picked up Ramirez in the San Bernardo area and drove her to Jefferies Road, located off Texas Highway 255, otherwise known as the Camino Colombia Road. Ortiz said he pulled over so that Ramirez could go to the bathroom, according to the complaint. When she stepped out of the vehicle, he shot her multiple times in the head and then drove away from the area, the complaint alleges.

Ortiz said that on Sept. 13, 10 days after killing Ramirez, he picked up an unknown woman, who was later identified as Claudine Anne Luera, near San Bernardo and drove her to Texas 255. He said he pulled over to the side of the road after she became nervous and began accusing him of being the last person to see Ramirez alive, the complaint states.

When she exited the vehicle, he shot her multiple times in the head, according to the record.

A truck driver later discovered Luera by the side of the road. She was taken in critical condition to a local hospital but died from her injuries.

READ ALSO: Laredo Border Patrol agent pleads not guilty in double homicide case, judge issues gag order

On Sept. 15, after Peña had escaped from his vehicle, Ortiz said he picked up an unknown female on San Bernardo and drove her to mile marker 20 on I-35, near the intersection with North U.S. 83, according to the complaint.

He pulled over, told her to exit the vehicle, and shot her multiple times in the head, the document alleges.

Ortiz then returned to San Bernardo and picked up an unknown male. He drove him to the 15 mile marker on I-35, according to the complaint. After telling the man to exit his vehicle, Ortiz shot him once in the back of the head, the complaint alleges. Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said the man appeared to be a transgender woman, but authorities referred to her as John Doe.

Ortiz, following his arrest, told law enforcement where they could find her body.

The New York Times reported that Ortiz is a married father of two young children. Appraisal district records state that he and his wife own the home in the 200 block of Bur Oak Drive, located in an upscale neighborhood off Loop 20 in north Laredo.

No one answered at his home on Sunday, and several of his neighbors declined to comment. One neighbor said he didn't know anything about Ortiz.