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3 Venezuelan gang members accused of murdering North Texas man and kidnapping 2 children; 1 suspect at large

3 Venezuelan gang members accused of murdering North Texas man and kidnapping 2 children; 1 suspect at large

Three suspected gang members were arrested earlier this year for the murder of a man and the kidnapping of two children in Farmers Branch.

The suspects were located in Colorado and New Mexico. A fourth is still on the run.

Authorities believe the suspects and the murder victim were all members of a Venezuelan street gang that carried out an ATM theft.

Tren De Aragua is the Venezuelan gang involving four murder suspects, Farmers Branch police said.

Investigators believe four Venezuelan gang members kidnapped 33-year-old Nilzult Petit and two children and took them to a Farmers Branch apartment, 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 children related to Petit wandering along I-35E in Lewisville after being released unharmed by their kidnappers.

Petit is alleged to have collaborated 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 who is not involved in this case. He says ATM thefts often target criminals outside their home base.

“Some will know how to do it. They will recruit other people and show them how to do it,” he said. “Then they go to different places around the country, go to a few ATMs and then come back. And that makes it harder to find them if they go to ATMs that are far away from where they are located.”

Carlos Luis Zambrano Bolivar, 25, and Jhonata Nahin Toro Gonzalez, 22, were arrested by ICE in Aurora, Colorado, where alleged gang activity has played a major role in politics.

Photos of men linked to kidnapping and murder in North Texas

Ehiker Alexander Morales Mendoza, 38, was located 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 a few isolated spots,” Helms said.

According to InSight Crime, a nonprofit that specializes in tracking organized crime, Tren De Aragua started in a Venezuelan prison and spread to other South American countries in 2018 while smuggling migrants.

InSight Crime further explains: “This rapid expansion came largely at the expense of the nearly 8 million desperate Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2015 in search of a better life. As the world watched this mass migration and saw a humanitarian crisis, Tren De Aragua saw a business opportunity and took full advantage of it.”

“Criminal gangs can use that opportunity to extort them and commit crimes against them,” Helms said.

Tren De Aragua has been linked to crimes ranging from sex trafficking to cybercrime.

It’s unclear how many gang members there are now in the US, but InSight Crime says there is no evidence that members are coordinating on a national level in the US

The murder suspects are also said to have kidnapped two juvenile relatives of the man they killed, but let the children go.

Police have not said exactly what connection these alleged Venezuelan gang members have to North Texas.

Farmers Branch police would not make anyone available for an interview Tuesday.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Farmers Branch Police Department at (972) 919-1406 or [email protected].