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Undocumented Immigrant Elias Avarado Caught In Process Of Committing Murder, Is A Suspect In A Second Homicide [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 09:37 PST, Sep 15, 2016

Police in Baltimore, Maryland, reportedly caught undocumented El Salvadorian immigrant Elias Josael Jimenes Avarado in the act of committing murder on September 8. The arrest of 21-year-old Elias Avarado followed an early morning phone call to Baltimore police in which a resident reported hearing the sounds of a woman’s screams. When officers arrived, they found undocumented immigrant Elias Avarado on top of his victim, reports CBS Local Baltimore.

According to law enforcement, Elias Avarado’s victim, 35-year-old Ranarda Williams, was already deceased when they arrived at around 4 a.m., and investigators say she had also been sexually assaulted. Upon realizing that the police were at the scene, the undocumented immigrant attempted to flee the scene of the crime, but he was quickly apprehended by Baltimore Police.

The Baltimore Police Department has publicly commented that it is incredibly rare for police officers to actually come upon a murder in progress, even in the midst of a densely populated urban area. Unfortunately, law enforcement doesn’t believe that crime they witnessed the undocumented immigrant committing was the only recent murder Elias Avarado was involved in.

According to law enforcement, Elias Avarado has been connected to at least one more murder in the local area. Investigators say that the undocumented immigrant is believed to be responsible for the sexual assault and murder of a 21-year-old woman on September 2. Her body was found near Bancroft Road a couple of weeks ago, and she reportedly suffered injuries similar to those found on the body of undocumented immigrant Elias Avarado’s most recent victim, Ranarda Williams

As Cleveland 19 reports, undocumented immigrant Elias Avarado was apparently targeting sex workers at the time that he was allegedly caught committing a murder in progress. At this point, it is unclear whether or not Avarado could have more victims, but as a result of being caught in the act of committing murder, he was initially charged with assault, as well as both second-and first-degree murder. It is entirely possible that more charges will be forthcoming.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis spoke about the unlikelihood of police officers catching an alleged murder in the act of committing a homicide. According to Davis, even for a police veteran, the chances of something like interrupting undocumented immigrant Elias Avarado in the physical act of committing homicide are exceedingly slim.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years — everyone up here is a police veteran — I can’t remember ever interrupting a homicide in progress. That is such a rare thing. It’s a thing that was done yesterday at 3:40 in the morning, because these patrol officers took their job seriously and put themselves in a position to make this apprehension. If they didn’t make this apprehension, we’d have a murder victim, a who-done-it, an unsolved case.”

Local investigators and prosecutors are actively looking into whether or not the undocumented immigrant could be involved in more crimes, be they sexual assault, assault, or even murder. Reportedly, authorities have reached out to local sex workers to try to get more information. It is a long shot, as those employed in the illegal sex trade are notoriously hesitant to speak to police, but authorities are hoping that they can scrape together as much information as they can about Elias Avarado.

Any information gathered by Baltimore police could help to that undocumented immigrant Elias Avarado is convicted of the charges that have been levied against him. Further, new information about the habits and potential crimes of Elias Avarado could result in the undocumented El Salvadorian immigrant facing additional charges. According to authorities, it is likely that Avarado was a frequent visitor of both prostitutes and the area of Baltimore where the murders were committed.

Commissioner Davis has assured the public and the media that the fact that Elias Avarado is an undocumented immigrant will not “complicate his prosecution” for his recent alleged crimes.

[Featured Image by Shutterstock]

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