Venezuelan murder suspect found hiding
in a hole after 6+ hour manhunt
K9 officer picks up the scent
After a 6+ hour ordeal, a wanted man considered armed and dangerous was found hiding in a hole in a large field south of Devine. The 25-year old suspect Naudy Hernandez Perez, of Venezuela, was wanted for a Dallas murder, and police believe he was trying to flee the country to Mexico that night when deputies intercepted him on I-35 South this past Thursday night, July 11.
After a massive manhunt he was captured around midnight.
“He had dug a little hole and covered himself up in the tree line,” Sheriff Randy Brown said. “A DPS K9 unit picked up the suspect’s scent and led his handler right to him.”
It all began with a traffic stop as deputies identified the wanted man’s vehicle on I-35 South near MM 119.
Local authorities soon issued a warning notice as the murder suspect fled and went into hiding. Police believed he may have been carrying a 9mm pistol, which was later found inside the vehicle he abandoned.
“My guys were set up on I-35 looking for the vehicle that evening. Around 7 pm, we attempted to stop him, and he fled and jumped out of the vehicle. There was a train on the tracks, and he went either underneath or between the train cars as he fled. So he made it across the thicket of the Black Jacks, and we set up a perimeter,” Sheriff Brown said.
Police, deputies, troopers, border patrol, K9 units, and air support combed the area in the extensive search. BORTAC, a tactical unit of the US Border Patrol, also helped secure the area. The Special Ops group is well-versed in foot chases, and with a murder suspect on the loose in our community, help came from all directions, Sheriff Brown said.
Perez was transported to the Medina County Jail to be charged with the Active Murder Warrant to include new criminal charges. He will be transported back to the county where the Murder charges were filed.
The Medina County Sheriff’s Office would like to give a special thanks to all the agencies involved who assisted with the successful apprehension of this individual: MEDINA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, HONDO POLICE DEPT, TEXAS DPS, FRIO COUNTY, BORDER PATROL, DEVINE POLICE DEPT, SAPD EAGLE.
It is unknown how long the suspect has been in the U.S. and if he was here legally.
“Border Patrol and ICE are looking into that,” Sheriff Brown said.