Venezuelan gang members charged with murder in Dallas area; the investigation moved authorities to Colorado, New Mexico

By Bethany Blankley
Central Square

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

Three Venezuelans, all in the country illegally, were the latest to be arrested on suspicion of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, which apparently occurred in Farmers Branch, a northwestern Dallas suburb.

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

The Agricultural Branch Police Department announced this week that all five Venezuelans are part of a domestic ATM theft ring.

The three arrested were charged with the murder of 33-year-old Nilzult Petit, also a member of the TDA gang.

The arrests are related to Petit’s murder on August 24, 2024. Police officers from the Agricultural Branch found his body with a single gunshot wound to the head. FBPD and Lewisville Police officers also located two juveniles, believed to be known to Petit, who were found in the early morning hours of the same day walking on the I-35 service road in Lewisville.

After retrieving them, officers learned that “Petit and two juveniles were forcibly taken by several unknown suspects from an apartment building at Fair Oaks Crossing in Dallas around 12:30 p.m. The suspects drove Petit and the juveniles to a location in Farmers Branch, where Petit was then shot. The suspects then fled the scene with the two juveniles in a light-colored four-door sedan and released the juveniles, uninjured, onto service road IH-35E,” FBPD said in a statement.

Through an extensive investigation, FBPD detectives were initially able to identify two suspects they believed were Petit’s associates allegedly involved in a complex ATM theft operation that targeted several locations across the country. After the latest ATM theft crime, “the suspects accused Petit of withholding some of the stolen money” from others in the thieves’ ring. They reportedly confronted Petit and demanded payment, “which he was either unwilling or unable to pay. Petit and the two minors were then forcibly taken from their apartment complex and taken to the Farmers Branch area, where he was murdered execution-style, FBPD said.

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

Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, detectives were also able to identify a third suspect believed to be responsible for the ATM theft. On October 11, he was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico on outstanding warrants for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping out of Dallas County. He is also currently awaiting extradition.

During the course of the investigation, detectives also confirmed that Petit and all suspects are associated with TDA and that the murder is not related to any other investigation or criminal case pending in the Farmers Division.

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

FBPD actively cooperates with numerous law enforcement agencies, which it says have “played critical roles in the investigation, search, tracking and apprehension of capital murder suspects.”

The federal agencies involved in this case are DHS HSI; ICE; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; FBI; United States Marshals Service; and the US Secret Service.

State agencies involved in this case include the Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center; Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Colorado State Police; and the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’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 Carrollton Police Department.

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

Texas DPS is also offering rewards of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrests of TDA gang members. According to The Center Square, DPS and city law enforcement continue to successfully combat TDA-related crimes in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

The news comes after more than a million Venezuelans were reported to have entered the country illegally under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.