After more than a year of evading law enforcement, a murder suspect accused in a fatal 2021 drive-by shooting in Houston has been re-arrested thanks to a U.S. Marshals task force.
Giovanni Matt Ornelas, 31, was taken into custody on January 7 by the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force.
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Ornelas is charged with murder in the death of Albert Castillo Jr., 22, and with bail jumping after allegedly removing his ankle monitor and fleeing before his trial in September 2024.
Investigators eventually located him with the help of his girlfriend, Anastasia Marie Hernandez, 34, who has been charged with hindering apprehension.
BACKGROUND: Authorities offer $10K reward for capture of Giovanni Ornelas in 2021 deadly SE Houston drive-by
Police said Hernandez was harboring Ornelas when he was arrested. Both were taken into custody without incident.
What happened?
The incident happened on August 8, 2021, at a home in the 5600 block of Newport Street. According to Houston police, Ornelas and another suspect, Jose Leonel Cabrera, 30, opened fire in a drive-by shooting.
Albert Castillo Jr. was struck in the back and died at the scene. His father, Albert Castillo Sr., 39, was shot in the arm and taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Witnesses described the shooter as a white or light-skinned Hispanic man with an athletic build, a tattoo sleeve on his left arm, and a thin beard. The shooter was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and fled east on Newport Drive toward I-45.
Ornelas was arrested on August 19, 2021, after being identified as a suspect early in the investigation. Cabrera, the second suspect, was charged while in the custody of the Texas Department of Corrections for an unrelated case.
After Ornelas removed his ankle monitor, Houston police and Crime Stoppers increased the reward for his arrest and issued multiple appeals for public assistance.
Police said Hernandez was harboring Ornelas when he was arrested. Both were taken into custody without incident.