Francisco Oropesa has been accused of killing five and leading law enforcement on a four-day manhunt. Reuters
Francisco Oropesa has been accused of killing five and leading law enforcement on a four-day manhunt. Reuters
Francisco Oropesa has been accused of killing five and leading law enforcement on a four-day manhunt. Reuters
Francisco Oropesa has been accused of killing five and leading law enforcement on a four-day manhunt. Reuters

Francisco Oropesa: Several people arrested after allegedly helping Texas fugitive hide


  • English
  • Arabic

Texas authorities have arrested several people who may have helped a man suspected of killing five neighbours to evade a manhunt for four days, a local deputy sheriff said on Wednesday, a day after the suspect's capture.

The bloodshed occurred on Friday in Cleveland, Texas, after neighbours asked Francisco Oropesa to stop firing his semi-automatic rifle in his yard because it was keeping their baby awake.

Instead, the man reloaded, entered the home of the neighbours and killed five, including an eight-year-old boy, officials said.

San Jacinto County Chief Deputy Tim Kean at a news conference on Wednesday said several additional arrests have been made but did not go into detail on their involvement in the crime or the search for the suspect.

“Anybody that helped this maniac definitely has some issues, as far as I am concerned,” Mr Kean said.

Mr Oropesa, 38, was apprehended on Tuesday after a four-day manhunt conducted by local, state and federal officials. He was found in a wardrobe under some laundry in a home in nearby Montgomery County.

A $5 million bond will be set for the suspected gunman when he appears later on Wednesday before a judge in a local jail, where he is being held on five counts of murder, Mr Kean said.

The suspect was arrested in the town of Cut and Shoot, Texas, about 27km west of Cleveland, where the shootings took place. Both are about 80km north of Houston.

Officials acted on a tip from an unidentified person who was eligible for an $80,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said on Tuesday.

Most of the victims were shot in the head. All were from Honduras and among 10 people living at the address, but they were not all family members, Mr Capers said.

The suspect is a Mexican citizen who immigration officials said had been deported from the US four times since 2009.

Have you been targeted?

Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:

1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.

2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.

3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.

4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.

5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh135,000

Engine 1.6L turbo

Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode

Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

Results

Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).

Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.

Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.

Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.

Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.

Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)

Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)

Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.

Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.

Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.

Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.

Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

The Freedom Artist

By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)

Updated: May 04, 2023, 6:57 AM