Border Patrol picks up Nicaraguan national wanted for homicide

Border Patrol picks up Nicaraguan national wanted for homicide

June 12, 2008 - 1:42PM
Sean Gaffney

ALTON -- A man wanted for homicide in Miami was found hiding in a house in Alton late Tuesday evening, according to authorities.

U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered Orlando Martinez, 39, hiding in a house near the intersection of 4 Mile Line and Trosper Road after they received a tip that several illegal immigrants were staying at that location.

The 17 people found in the house were illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Central American countries, said Dan Doty, a local spokesman for the Border Patrol.

The immigrants were taken to the agency's McAllen station for processing. Agents performing a record check there discovered that Martinez, a Nicaraguan national, was wanted for homicide by the Miami-Dade Police Department in Florida, Doty said.

He refused to release the name of the wanted man, but records from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office indicate Martinez is waiting extradition to Florida.

This is at least the second time in recent months that federal agents have discovered a foreign fugitive in the Valley. In late January, agents at the Sarita checkpoint, about 70 miles north of Harlingen, nabbed Pol Brennan, a fugitive wanted by British authorities.

Brennan, who fled a Northern Irish prison in an infamous escape 24 years ago, was arrested after a background check using an international fingerprint system identified him as a fugitive.

British authorities said they weren't actively pursuing Brennan, and he remains in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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