Arrested: Man accused of kidnapping a Houston-area mother of 4 who was later found murdered captured in Mexico, police say

LAREDO, Texas – A man accused of kidnapping a woman whose body was found inside an SUV in Pasadena on Monday is in custody, authorities confirmed Thursday.

At 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers with the Pasadena Police Department assigned to the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, the U.S. Marshal Service, DEA, and Customs and Border Patrol said they collaborated to arrest Daniel Chacon, 30.

Police said Chacon, who has an aggravated kidnapping warrant from Harris County and is the primary person of interest in the capital murder case of 38-year-old Maira Gutierrez, had fled the country to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Pasadena police and federal agencies said they worked “tirelessly through the night” to negotiate with the suspect for a safe surrender at the Laredo Port of Entry.

Chacon arrived at the Pasadena jail in an unmarked SUV around 5:40 p.m. on Thursday, after days on the run. Police escorted him inside the jail and he didn’t respond to any questions as the sallyport doors shut.

What happened?

Police said they received reports that the suspect forced the mother of four into the vehicle in the 3800 block of Red Bluff in Pasadena. The SUV was reportedly located on Cedar Crest near Sunnycrest, with Gutierrez dead from a gunshot wound inside.

Chacon and Gutierrez have a 5-month-old daughter together. Chief Bruegger said the little girl was inside the apartment at the time with Chacon’s current girlfriend. The chief said the toddler is now with family.

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During a news conference, the chief discussed two recent incidents that Pasadena officers responded to.

The first was on Sept. 1, 2022. Chief Bruegger said Chacon called the police claiming Gutierrez was drunk driving with their child in the vehicle.

Bruegger said an investigator referred Gutierrez to a local domestic violence advocacy group, an offer he said she didn’t accept.

A check of Chacon’s criminal history in Harris County shows he was previously charged with assault on a family member once in 2017 and twice in 2012, and violating a protection order, among others. None of these cases involve Gutierrez.

Chacon is scheduled to appear in court today and may face additional charges.