3 Venezuelan gang members accused of murdering North Texas man, kidnapping 2 kids; 1 suspect at large
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - Three suspected gang members were arrested for the murder of a man and kidnapping of two kids in Farmers Branch earlier this year.
The suspects were located in Colorado and New Mexico. A fourth remains on the run.
Authorities believe the suspects and the murder victim were all members of a Venezuelan street gang running an ATM theft operation.
Tren De Aragua is the Venezuelan gang that four capital murder suspects are affiliated with, according to the Farmers Branch Police Department.
Investigators believe four Venezuelan gang members kidnapped 33-year-old Nilzult Petit and two children, taking them to an apartment in Farmers Branch, where he was shot in the head.
On August 24, the body of 33-year-old Nilzult Petit was found on Valley View Lane in Irving. Officers later found the two young kids related to Petit wandering along I-35E in Lewisville after being let go by the kidnappers unharmed.
Petit was allegedly working with the people who killed him in a nationwide ATM theft scheme and failed to pay them.
Attorney John Helms is a former federal prosecutor not connected to this case. He says ATM thefts are commonly targeted by criminals away from their home base.
"Some will know how to do it. They’ll recruit other people and show them how to do it," he said. "Then they go off to different places around the country, hit some ATMs and then come back. And that makes it harder to find them if they’re hitting ATMs that are a long way away from where they’re based out of."
Carlos Luis Zambrano Bolivar, 25, and Jhonata Nahin Toro Gonzalez, 22, were arrested by ICE in Aurora, Colorado, where alleged gang activity has played an outsized role in politics.
Photos of men linked to kidnapping and murder in North Texas
Ehiker Alexander Morales Mendoza, 38, was found and arrested by U.S. Homeland Security in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
A fourth suspect, 29-year-old Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, remains at large.
"I haven’t seen much information indicating any significant presence in North Texas other than in a couple of isolated spots," Helms said.
According to InSight Crime, a nonprofit that specializes in following organized crime, Tren De Aragua began in a Venezuelan prison and spreading into other South American countries in 2018 while smuggling migrants.
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InSight Crime further explains, "This rapid expansion came largely on the backs of the nearly 8 million desperate Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2015 looking for a better life. Whereas the world looked at this mass migration and saw a humanitarian crisis, Tren De Aragua saw a business opportunity, and it took full advantage."
"Criminal gangs can seize on that opportunity to extort them and commit crimes against them," Helms said.
Tren De Aragua is connected to crimes ranging from sex trafficking to cybercrime.
It’s unclear how many gang affiliates are now in the U.S., but InSight Crime says there’s no evidence members are coordinating on a national level in the U.S.
The murder suspects also allegedly kidnapped two juvenile family members of the man they killed but let those kids go.
Police did not say exactly what connection these alleged Venezuelan gang members have to North Texas.
Farmers Branch police would not make anyone available for an interview on Tuesday.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Farmers Branch Police Department at (972) 919-1406 or pdinfoandtips@farmersbranchtx.gov.