PONTIAC (WWJ) – Three members of a Pontiac family are facing charges for a murder that had gone unsolved for nearly four years.
Angel Jose Alvarez, 22, has been arraigned on one count of open murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the June 2018 slaying of 20-year-old Emilio Valdez.
He was ordered to be held at the Oakland County Jail without bond.
Alvarez's brother, 27-year-old Juan Diego Hernandez, and their mother, 46-year-old Guadalupe Maria Davila-Rodriguez, have been charged with being accessories after the fact to open murder – five-year felonies.
The judge set a $20,000 personal bond for each, which permits their release from jail without posting any money. All three are to appear for a probable cause conference on April 21 and a preliminary examination on April 28.
The trio were arrested Friday – Hernandez in Walled Lake and Alvarez and Davila-Rodriguez in Pontiac – after detectives uncovered new evidence linking them to the crime.
Authorities say all three were living together at a home on Edison Street in Pontiac. Hernandez was working as a mail carrier in Walled Lake at the time of his arrest.
The judge said Hernandez can no longer live with Davila-Rodriguez and none of the defendants can have contact with each other.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard told WWJ Tuesday night "hopefully this family will get some sense of closure."
"They'll never have their loved one back, but at least they know we never gave up," Bouchard said. "The prosecutor now will have an opportunity to bring the people involved to justice."
The sheriff's office says back on June 7, 2018, two young men had gone to fish at Osmun Lake in Pontiac, where they found a blood-soaked shirt, a broken vehicle headlight and blood on and around a dock.
Oakland County Sheriff
A dive team from the sheriff's department responded and found Valdez's body in the lake. An autopsy later revealed he had been shot twice in the chest, but was alive while in the lake, according to the sheriff's office
That same day, the victim's sister -- since identified as Davila-Rodriguez -- told detectives she had seen her brother getting into a black Pontiac Grand Prix earlier in the day.
She heard several gunshots and saw the car speed away, she told police. She tried to reach her brother later, but was unsuccessful, police said.
It was reported the same day that a black Grand Prix had been stolen -- but what wasn't reported to Deputies at the time was that Alvarez, the son of the complainant, was driving the car.
The car was discovered in Sylvan Lake and recovered by Waterford Township police. A spent shell casing, blood and the victim's cell phone were found in the vehicle.
Alvarez was questioned at the time but denied any knowledge of the slaying. Detectives do not believe the slaying was random.
They were able to uncover additional information recently which led to the charges, though authorities did not explicitly say what that new information was.
"I am proud of our deputies who constantly dig for more information and look for ways to not only solve crimes but to bring perpetrators to justice," Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "We look forward to those involved in this homicide being held accountable."
