Authorities said Wednesday that additional arrests have been made in connection to the deadly shooting of five people in Cleveland, Texas.
The suspected gunman, Francisco Oropesa, was apprehended in Conroe, Texas, Tuesday evening after a four-day manhunt. The FBI said he was found hiding in a laundry closet.
At a press conference early Wednesday, Lt. Timothy Kean, second in command at the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, said additional arrests have been made.
Kean said he would not provide the exact number, saying the amount is "fluid right now," but not more than five. Oropesa's wife, Divimara Lamar Nava, 53, is among those in custody in connection with the Friday night shooting, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson separately told the Associated Press.
"There have been several arrests, but I can’t go into the details on that," Kean added Wednesday morning.
"I’m not going to say his name. You guys know his name. He’s in this jail right here," Kean said of Oropesa. "I don’t think he deserves the glory for what he’s done."
"He’s in this jail probably having a hot breakfast when we’re out here talking about it," Kean added.
Kean also would not confirm whether Oropesa's wife is among those arrested. Oropesa's bond will be officially set at the jail by a judge Wednesday morning, Kean said.
TEXAS FUGITIVE ACCUSED OF KILLING 5 WAS ILLEGALLY IN US; DEPORTED 5 TIMES
It's already expected to be $5 million, as was determined by the judge who issued the initial arrest warrant for murder.
"The people arrested are not telling us very much," Kean said. "Anybody that helped this maniac is definitely got some kind of issues as far as I’m concerned."
Kean also defended law enforcement's initial response the shooting late Friday.
The initial calls, as the lieutenant explained, came in for a man firing his rifle on his property. According to authorities and survivors, a few people from a neighboring house asked Oropesa to stop since it was later and a 1-month-old baby was scared and trying to sleep. Kean said another patrol unit was in the area on an aggravated robbery call.
"This is not a rich county. We’ve got three deputies on patrol to cover this entire county," Kean said. "If you’re going from north county to Trails End, which is where this occurred at, it’s an hour’s drive. That’s with lights and sirens. We’ve got poor roads. We’re understaffed. And welcome to rural law enforcement. This is the way most of this nation is right now."
"They had to leave the aggravated robbery call, which is a serious call. You've got two bad things going on at once with one deputy to do it all," Kean said. "The initial call on this was someone firing their gun in their yard. At that point, it wasn’t an attack. So the aggravated robbery trumps the guy shooting in the yard at the time. So he’s doing that call, and then that other call escalated. So we do what we can with what we have."
"We have 32 sworn positions, and we’re about six short. We’ve got 28 jail positions, and we’re 11 short. So we’re missing half our jail staff. And if anybody wants a job, we’re hiring."
Oropesa, a Mexican national, is an illegal immigrant who's reported been deported five times before. The deceased victims were from Honduras, and at least some of them were also in the U.S. illegally. Those killed were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.
Kean said San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, who's been present for prior news conferences, was sleeping early Wednesday after working more than 30 hours straight.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
