A teen suspected of killing four people in northern Nevada this month entered the U.S. illegally from El Salvador, federal immigration authorities said Tuesday.
Wilbur Martinez-Guzman, 19, has been jailed in Carson City, Nev., since Saturday, when he was picked up on an immigration violation.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT EXPECTED TO FACE MURDER CHARGES IN NEVADA KILLING SPREE
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday that the teen had no criminal record or history of previous immigration violations, KTVN-TV reported.
President Donald Trump seized on the killings as evidence of the need for a wall he has proposed building on the border separating the U.S. and Mexico.
"Four people in Nevada viciously robbed and killed by an illegal immigrant who should not have been in our Country," Trump said Monday evening in a tweet. "We need a powerful Wall!"
Martinez-Guzman is due in court Thursday in Carson City for an arraignment on charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and obtaining money by false pretenses, the station reported.
He could also face murder charges later this week. Prosecutors in the Nevada counties of Washoe and Douglas are preparing those cases..
"A conviction for these crimes is our highest priority," the station quoted Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks as saying.
Gerald David, 81, a former Reno rodeo boss, and his wife Sharon David, 80, were found dead Jan. 16 in Reno. Connie Koontz, 56, was found dead Jan. 10 in Gardnerville, where Sophia Renken, 74, was also found dead three days later.
Investgators believe the victims were shot and killed in their homes during burglaries.
MAN, 19, DETAINED ON IMMIGRATION CONCERNS WANTED IN 4 NEVADA MURDERS
“My heart hurts but I’m so very thankful they were able to find this monster,” Koontz’s daughter said on Facebook Sunday.
Madison Koontz-Winkelman also said she didn't want to see her mother’s murder become political.
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“You’re all entitled to have your own opinions but at the end of the day this monster is a murderer,” she said. “He murdered 4 innocent people, one being my mother. I don’t care if he was legal, illegal, white, black, (L)atino, I don’t care. I just want to make sure that this pathetic human being rots in prison and never sees the light of day ever again.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
