June 04--The food truck that once brought income to Mireya Alvarado's family is now the source of pain and mourning.
Late one rainy April night, the 65-year-old Dominican immigrant was shot and killed during an attempted robbery as she and her octogenarian helper prepared to close the Arepera Solita truck on East Colonial Drive.
Two men wearing hoodies surprised Alvarado and 83-year-old Rene Martinez as he opened the truck door to bring the plastic chairs in for the night. At least one shot was fired, hitting Alvarado in the chest. The killers ran off into the night empty-handed.
Alvarado's slaying is one of seven unsolved murders under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff's Office since the beginning of the year. Detectives have investigated 17 murders through May 31 of this year, compared with 21 during the same time last year, which is a 19 percent decrease.
"The cases that are open, those are the ones we don't get a lot of cooperation" from the community, said Orange County sheriff's Lt. Paul Zambouros, who oversees the homicide unit. "Someone knows something. You'd think they would be a good citizen and come forward."
But no one has said a word. In the six weeks since Alvarado was killed, detectives have received one vague tip. The investigation is at a standstill.
Record number of homicides plagued law-enforcement agencies in Orange County for years -- peaking in 2006 and 2008 -- but they had been on the decline since 2009. In 2011, murder cases ticked up by 20 percent.
Now it appears they are on the decline again. And there are few explanations why.
"It's virtually impossible to predict" a homicide, said Orlando police Sgt. Darron Esan, adding that other crimes, such as robberies, have patterns that allow officers to track behavior and take proactive measures. "It's not isolated to any one area; it can happen at anywhere at any time."
The number of murders has also gone down in Orlando in 2012. Orlando police have investigated eight homicides through May 31, compared with 12 last year -- a 33 percent decrease. Only one 2012 OPD case remains unsolved: the March 4 shooting death of 26-year-old Terry Guerrier on Universal Boulevard.
A 2012 murder in Apopka has been solved.
Crimeline helps cold cases
Community cooperation is key to solving a difficult murder case, because without tips or leads, a case can quickly grow cold, investigators say.
So far this year, anonymous Crimeline tipsters have helped solve three Orange County murders, according to Executive Director Barb Bergin.
Crimeline tipsters led to two arrests in the high-profile slayings of Winter Park High School students Nicholas Presha, 16, and Jeremy Stewart, 18, whose burning bodies were found in April along the Cady Way Trail.
Jesse Davis, 30, and Hector Rodriguez, 31, were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder about a month after the bodies were discovered.
"Even as cases grow cold, Crimeline is always a tool to help solve cases," Bergin said. "The No. 1 purpose for our existence is for people to remain anonymous."
Orlando police homicide Detective Toyd Montford and Guerrier's family hope that someone will come forward with information in his slaying.
Guerrier had left a nightclub and was driving on Universal Boulevard near International Drive around 3 a.m. March 4 when he was killed in a hail of gunfire from a black Range Rover. Though there were dozens of potential witnesses, few have come forward.
"It's hard to put into words, but there is not a day that goes buy that we don't think of him," said Whitney, mother of Guerrier's two young children. "It's really been a tragedy and a nightmare for us."
The Orlando Sentinel is not using the woman's last name because Guerrier's killer has not been caught, and she fears retribution.
'Cannot work there'
The food-truck slaying forced Alvarado's husband, Ronaldo Carrasquel, 52, to close his business.
"What I want to do is sell [the truck] because, in reality, I cannot work there anymore," he said. "It is too painful for me."
Carrasquel is disturbed that no one has come forward with information about his wife's slaying, but he thinks the killers will one day be caught and punished.
Detectives urge anyone with information about unsolved crimes to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477. Tipsters will remain anonymous and could be eligible for a monetary reward.
El Sentinel staff writer Carolina Salazar contributed to this report. [email protected] or 407-420-5620.
Copyright 2012 - The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
