Venezuelan gang members accused of murder in Dallas area; investigation led authorities to Colorado, New Mexico

By Bethany Blankley
Central Square

More illegal border crossers confirmed to be members of the Venezuelan Tren De Aragua prison gang continue to be arrested for allegedly committing violent crimes in Texas.

The latest people arrested on capital murder and aggravated kidnapping charges, believed to have occurred in Farmers Branch, a northwest Dallas suburb, were three Venezuelan men, all of whom were in the country illegally.

Two suspects were arrested in Aurora, Colorado; one was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico. All three are being extradited to Texas. The fourth remains at large.

Five Venezuelan men are also believed to be part of a national ATM theft ring, the Farmers Branch Police Department announced this week.

The three arrested men were charged with the murder of 33-year-old Nilzult Petit, who was also confirmed to be a TDA gang member.

The arrests are connected to Petit’s murder on August 24, 2024. Farmer Branch police found his body with a single gunshot wound to the head. FBPD and Lewisville Police Department officers also found two teens believed to be known to Petit walking along the I-35 service road in Lewisville in the early morning hours of the same day.

After rescuing them, officers learned that “Petit and the two teenagers were forcibly removed from an apartment complex in Fair Oaks Crossing in Dallas by several unknown suspects around 12:30 a.m. The suspects took Petit and the teenagers to the Farmers Branch location. Petit’ The suspects then fled the scene with the two children in a light-colored four-door sedan and left the children unharmed on the IH-35E service road, FBPD said in a statement.

Through an extensive investigation, FBPD detectives were able to identify two suspects who they initially believed were associates of Petit and were allegedly involved in a complex ATM theft operation targeting various locations across the country. After the latest ATM theft crime, “the suspects accused Petit of keeping some of the stolen money from others in the theft ring.” They reportedly confronted Petit and demanded payment, “which he was unwilling or unable to provide,” FBPD said. Petit and the two children were then forcibly taken from their apartment complex, taken to the area in Farmers Branch, and killed execution-style.

The investigation led FBPD detectives to Aurora, Colorado, to interview two suspects in September. They were already in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The suspects, who were later charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, are awaiting extradition to Texas.

Detectives working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations were also able to identify a third suspect who was allegedly the mastermind of the ATM theft operation. He was arrested on October 11 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on an outstanding Dallas County warrant for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. It is currently waiting to be extradited.

During the investigation, detectives also confirmed that Petit and all suspects were affiliated with the TDA and that the murder was not related to any other investigation or criminal case in Farmer’s Branch.

The fourth suspect, 29-year-old Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, remains at large. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact FBPD, including anonymously, at 972-919-1406 or [email protected].

FBPD actively works with multiple law enforcement agencies, which it says is “instrumental in the investigation, search, pursuit and capture of major murder suspects.”

Federal agencies involved in the case include DHS HSI; ICE; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; FBI; US Marshals Service; and the US Secret Service.

Government agencies involved in the case include the Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center; Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Colorado State Police; and the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office. County agencies include Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Campbell County, Wyoming; Meade County, South Dakota; Dona Ana County, New Mexico; and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

City agencies include the Dallas Police Department; Aurora Police Department; Gillette, Wyoming, Police Department; Middleburg Heights, Ohio, Police Department; Belle Fourche, South Dakota, Police Department; Oklahoma City Police Department; Lawton, Oklahoma, Police Department; Irving Police Department; Greenville Police Department; and the Carrollton Police Department.

The multi-agency operation was underway as Gov. Greg Abbott launched an initiative to crack down on TDA crimes, which have exploded under the Biden-Harris administration. He also defined TDA as a foreign terrorist organization.

Texas DPS is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of TDA gang members. DPS and city law enforcement operations continue to successfully target TDA crimes in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, The Center Square reported.

The news comes as more than a million Venezuelans reportedly entered the country illegally under the Biden-Harris administration, according to exclusive reporting by The Center Square.