OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — Two brothers accused of killing a mother of four in Kentucky are in jail in Florida after being on the run for three months.
Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office deputies made the arrest nearly 1,000 miles from where the shooting took place.
WPTV reporter Kayla McDermott spoke to neighbors who were shocked to find out the story behind the two men who recently moved to the area.
On Thursday, McDermott stood in front of the unit where deputies said two brothers were staying and neighbors told WPTV they were here for at least two months while on the run.
Gary Sires said he often sits out on his porch and has seen the brothers but never expected law enforcement and a SWAT team to surround his neighbor’s house on Tuesday.
“Four cop cars here, two or three right over here,” he said, while pointing.
Deputies said Brian, 21, and Kevin, 18, Marques Chavez are wanted for first-degree murder out of Lexington, Kentucky.
“I didn't know nothing about this,” Sire said.
Lexington police said the Chavez brothers shot and killed Esmeralda Rodriguez Perez, 28, in September at a child's birthday party.
Perez’s grieving family spoke to our sister station and shared that Perez left behind four children-- her youngest child is less than a year old.
"I think that's what hurts me most is that she's not going to see him,” Kimberly Perez, the victim’s sister said. “That I feel she did not get enough time with him."
Police in Kentucky have been searching for the Chavez brothers, asking for the public's help and the public came through in Okeechobee County, when a tipster reached out to the sheriff’s office on Monday.
“By the end of the day, we had captured them and taken them into custody,” Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Michael Hazellief said.
The arrests put an end to a three-month search.
“We're able to provide a piece of the puzzle and hopefully provide some closure to the family of this horrific event,” Hazellief said.
The brothers are still in Florida they will soon be sent back to Kentucky where they will face several charges, including murder.
