Texas police hunt for 20-year-old charged for alleged role in MS-13 machete murder
New York Post
February 10, 2022
Texas police are looking for Karla Jackelin Morales, who managed to cut off her GPS-enabled ankle monitor
Texas police are hunting a young woman who allegedly lured a man to a field where he was brutally hacked to death by MS-13 gang members with machetes.
Karla Jackelin Morales, 20, was charged with murder for her alleged role in the July 2018 shooting and machete slaying of 24-year-old Jose Villanueva, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
But just days before she was set to go to trial in October, Morales cut off her GPS-enabled ankle monitor, District Attorney Kim Ogg said Wednesday — and cops have been unable to locate her.
“She helped plan and plot this vicious execution, and somebody out there knows where she is hiding,” Ogg said in a statement, adding that a $5,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the fugitive’s capture.
“You can do the right thing by helping deliver justice for Jose’s family, and you can collect a reward for your efforts.”
Morales had been free on bond, Ogg said.
Meanwhile, five MS-13 gang members who hacked Villanueva with a machete before shooting him repeatedly as he tried to crawl away have already been convicted and sentenced to prison, Ogg said.
Morales has been charged with murder in the crime
Villanueva, an avid soccer player and rap music fan, had been sought by MS-13 for allegedly berating the gang known for extreme acts of violence.
Morales allegedly set up Villanueva by taking him to a grassy field near an elementary school in Spring, Texas, where she said they’d smoke marijuana as a belated birthday gift for him.
The man’s decomposing remains were found days later. The planned killing had been in the works for weeks, Ogg said.
MS-13 gang members brutally killed Jose Villanueva in 2018
Morales faces up to 99 years in prison if convicted, a spokesman for Ogg’s office told The Post on Thursday.
Prosecutors had asked for Morales to be held in lieu of $250,000, but a judge set her bond at $100,000. It was then lowered to $60,000 by a district judge who also waived fees associated with her ankle monitor, Ogg said.
Morales, a California native, is known by several nicknames, including “Cherry” and “Foxy.” She’s 5 feet tall with black hair, brown eyes and a heavy build, authorities said. She also has a large tattoo on her chest that reads “Alicia,” Ogg added.
Harris County District Attorney Kim K. Ogg said authorities are offering $5,000 for information in the case.
Morales may still be in the Houston area, but she has relatives in Central America, including Honduras and El Salvador, where MS-13 thrives. The international street gang originally formed in Los Angeles during the 1980s.
Anyone who comes forward with information regarding Morales’
whereabouts will not be asked about their immigration status, Ogg vowed.
Many MS-13 gang members are heavily tattooed
One of the Houston-area MS-13 gang members convicted in Villanueva’s death, Francisco “Psycho” Flores-Salazar, 21, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in October — just a week before Morales jumped bail.
1 comment:
WTF was she doing NOT in lockup?
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