HOUSTON – New search warrants obtained by KPRC 2 reveal the two men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray earlier this year are being investigated for possible connections to the violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
Franklin Pena and Johan Martinez-Rangel have been indicted for capital murder in Harris County and each have a $10 million bond.
According to the search warrants issued to TikTok in late September, Houston Police and Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigators are looking into their connection to Tren de Aragua, or TdA, partly because of the clues left on their public social media accounts.
“It makes it seem more real that these people are monsters and that these are evil people who do heinous things, don’t have a heart, who have no compassion for anybody,” Jocelyn’s mother Alexis Nungaray told KPRC 2 Tuesday night. “We really have no business burying our kids, they’re supposed to bury us.”
On one of their TikTok account bios, there are emojis that show a ninja, cross sword, and classical building, which investigators wrote in the warrant “TdA will use certain slang and emojis in their communications with one another to identify themselves.”
In a post on that same account, there’s a message written in Spanish which investigators described as “a call to members inside and outside the country” and that “the message involved TdA gang membership.”
Other clues on the social media accounts included certain clothing or shoes, records show, and certain hand signals that indicate gang membership.
On a different account investigators believe belonged to Pena, there’s video that shows him traveling to the United States in what appears to be a migrant train, posted in early May. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Pena was apprehended by Border Patrol on May 28 near El Paso.
Another video on that account showed Pena with two star tattoos on his shoulders along with a rose tattoo on his hand, which investigators wrote are associated with the gang.
In requesting the search warrant, investigators said they believe they could find more evidence related to Nungaray’s death, communications the suspects had with other gang members, evidence of gang affiliation or activity, or other potential criminal acts.
“This proves that these are very horrible people and they, it wasn’t an accident that just went too far,” Alexis Nungaray said.
Jocelyn Nungaray was found strangled to death partially submerged in a north Houston bayou on June 17. Investigators said her hands and ankles were bound. According to the indictment, she was also sexually assaulted.
Alexis Nungaray has been outspoken since about U.S. immigration policy calling for change.
“I needed to turn my pain into power and just make a difference,” she said. “I will use my last breath fighting for her.”
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, directing the Department of Public Safety to designate them a Tier 1 gang and create a TdA Strike Team to identify and arrest TdA gang members.
“TdA gangsters are like cockroaches. They multiply quickly. Small intrusions into communities become infestations if not aggressively pursued,” DPS Director Col. Steve McCraw said during the announcement.
TdA is known for brutal violence, Abbott said, including violent crimes like murder or rape and sex or drug trafficking.
It’s not clear how many known or suspected TdA members are active in Texas.
Abbott announced a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the identification or arrest of suspected TdA members involved in criminal activity in the state.