Multiple arrests have been made in connection with the mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, according to officials with the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s office.
Deputy Sheriff Tim Kean said he could not confirm how many people and who were arrested, but at least one woman, who is believed to be Francisco Oropesa's domestic partner, Divimara Lamar Nava, was also arrested and charged with a third degree felony for hindering apprehension of a known felon. Her bond is set at $250,000. Multiple pieces of evidence were recovered at the home where Oropesa was found, officials said.
"At this point the only way for that to go higher would be if she was named as a party to the offense and there's no evidence that she gave him material aid or encouragement in committing the offense,” San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said. “It's likely to stay as a third degree felony."
Kean said more arrests are likely. Francisco Oropesa was apprehended on Tuesday evening after a four-day manhunt. Oropesa is expected to be charged with five counts of murder. His bond is also expected to be set at $5 million.
Oropesa was found in a home in Cut and Shoot, Texas, hiding in a closet under a pile of laundry. Kean said he didn't resist, possibly because there was a K-9 dog present.
"He wasn't there the whole four days," Kean said during an early-morning press conference Wednesday. "Can't say when he arrived. We think we know how he got there, but we have to prove that out."
Kean said Oropesa also had a cell phone. His original phone was found near the crime scene, and Kean said it is believed he was able to get another from someone.
"Not everyone who was arrested was in the house; one was close by," Kean said.
He added that everyone Oropesa had been in contact with was in the area, and never left.
"I believe he thought he was in a safe spot," Kean said.
Kean also said the tips received on Monday, which prompted a lockdown at nearby schools when it was said he was believed to be near a landfill, were indeed sightings of Oropesa.
"We did confirm that was him on foot running, but we lost track of him," Kean said. "That was not a false alarm. When the schools got locked down, it was that event."
Kean also addressed the response time for officers to arrive to the crime scene on Friday.
"If any of you guys have been to the scene where the house is, to go from (the sheriff's office) to there, lights and siren, we're talking at least 30 minutes. This is not a rich county. We've got three deputies on patrol to cover this entire county. If you're going from north county to (where the shooting occurred), it's an hour drive with lights and siren.
"We've got poor roads, we're understaffed and welcome to rural law enforcement. This is the way most of this nation is right now. Our response time really was – I don't have the exact number – it's around 14 minutes. For that area, that's excellent. There was another patrol unit on an aggravated robbery call and they had to leave the call – which is a serious call."
Kean said they received the calls from the neighbors about Oropesa shooting in the yard, but at the time the aggravated robbery call trumped the shooting in the yard.
"At that point it wasn't an attack... that other call escalated," he said. "And we're doing what we can with what we have."