PRESS RELEASE
March 31, 2017
On March 27, 2017, at 9:30 p.m. Monday evening Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from a motorist who reported she had found a deceased person lying in the road on Roaring Run Road in Bedford County. While checking the body the motorist advised dispatchers that an older model Honda Accord with one occupant drove by at a high rate of speed. The motorist said the Honda was traveling towards Rte. 221.
Minutes later a Bedford County Sheriff’s deputy responding to the call on Roaring Run Road met the Honda near Virginia Memorial Park on 221. The deputy turned and stopped the car and the driver of the car identified himself as Victor A. Rodas, age 19 of Lynchburg. While talking to Rodas the deputy learned he was an illegal alien. Rodas was detained and transported to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. Homeland Security was contacted later Tuesday morning.
Tuesday morning, March28, 2017, Bedford County Sheriff’s deputies learned that there was a report of a missing 17-year-old male from the City of Lynchburg filed earlier that morning. Late Tuesday afternoon the medical examiner identified the body as that of the missing juvenile from Lynchburg. It appears that, at this point in time, the 17 year old, Raymond Wood, did not leave voluntarily from his home.
At 8:11 a.m. Tuesday morning, March 28, 2017, a citizen on Brookhill Road called the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office to report that two Hispanic males walked up and asked him to make a call for them. After the phone call a small sports car driven by a Hispanic male showed up and picked them up. A short time later the same vehicle returned and two more Hispanic males appeared out of hiding and entered this same vehicle and left the area at a high rate of speed. This same citizen said the car headed towards Lynchburg on State Rt. 221. Dispatchers put out a description of the car and minutes later deputies located the car on State Rt. 221 and stopped it on Cottontown Road. The vehicle was occupied by three Hispanic males. Deputies determined that two of the three were illegal aliens. One of the illegal aliens, José Corea-Ventura, was wanted for murder in Montgomery County, MD. The three occupants, along with the vehicle, were transported to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday afternoon, March 28, 2017, , Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE), officers arrived at the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and detained Lisandro A Vasquez, age 24, and Victor Rodas were detained and transported to Roanoke City Jail. Jose Corea-Ventura was transported to the Blue Ridge Regional Jail and held on the Montgomery County MD murder charges. The driver of the car was not detained.
Since the discovery of the body, investigators have processed the crime scene, several different vehicles, and interviewed numerous witnesses. Due to the fact that the subjects were undocumented illegal aliens and not locals an inordinate amount of man hours was required to insure the true identities of these individuals.
Investigators have worked closely with the Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Lynchburg Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Virginia State Police, FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshal’s Office, Prince George County, Maryland Police and Montgomery County Maryland County Police.
Today, as a result of the combined efforts of the agencies noted above, the Investigators with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, at the direction of the Bedford Commonwealth Attorney, Mr. Wes Nance, have obtained Second Degree Murder warrants for:
Victor A. Rodas, Age 19, Lynchburg, VA
Jose Corea-Ventura, age 21, recently of Lynchburg, VA
Lisandro A. Vasquez, age 24, Maryland
All three are known MS-13 gang members and undocumented illegal aliens.
“Our investigation into this incident has determined this is not a random act and has a connection to narcotics related activity. There is no current concern for the safety of the general public in the City of Lynchburg or Bedford County.”
United statement from Sheriff Mike Brown and Chief Raul Diaz
