2 Norristown Fugitives Captured In Texas After Man Found Dead Under Bridge: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — Two Norristown residents were arrested in Texas for the killing of a New York man in December, marking the conclusion of an investigation that crossed several states as the fugitives fled, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.

Ana Gonzalez-Munguia, 20, and Erick Galo-Ponce, 20, were taken into custody in Harris County, Texas, near Houston, on Friday, Jan. 6. They've been charged with second-degree murder, theft, and related counts.

District Attorney Kevin Steele called it "excellent detective work" to both " identify the victim and then subsequently identify the two defendants by tracking them across the country."

The case began back on Friday, Dec. 16, when Nilson Velazquez-Cardona of Woodhaven, New York, never returned home, his brother later told police.

An investigation revealed that Velazquez-Cardona was struck across the back of the head and then robbed by Galo-Ponce and Gonzalez-Mungula, according to authorities. The pair had recently been evicted from a Cherry Street apartment and were living near the Stony Creek bridge, police said.

Velazquez-Cardona was found dead under the bridge the next morning, Dec. 17, at 7:30 a.m. He could not be immediately identified because his phone and wallet had been taken.

Once he was identified, detectives said they discovered that his credit card was still being used. That included a charge for a motel room in Louisiana which was booked using Gonzalez-Mungula's cell phone, police said.

Phone records tracked the pair from the Stony Creek bridge at the time of the murder to a gas station in King of Prussia, then across Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and finally Texas, police said.

Galo-Ponce had relatives in the Houston area where the pair were finally caught.

Both will be extradited to Montgomery County in the coming days. Their arraignment and preliminary hearing will be scheduled when they arrive.