Three Arrests Made in 2019 Morriston Homicide Investigation

Christian Cirilo

Omar Ortiz

Jesse Torres

July 22, 2020

On August 11, 2019 the remains of a man were found dumped along a remote section of a Highway 464 in southeastern Levy County. Detectives arrived on scene and were able to quickly identify the victim. Evidence located at this scene confirmed the life of Jafet Padin Rodriguez (33) of Ocala was violently taken. This began the long complicated investigation to identify and arrest the individual(s) responsible.

Levy County Detectives immediately joined forces with the Ocala Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fire Marshal’s Office. The car belonging to Rodriguez was discovered burned in Marion County. Detectives invested hundreds of hours in the beginning stages of this investigation and these interviews led to several tangible leads. Detectives then sought investigative assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) due to language barriers and jurisdictional boundaries. 

Detectives learned through multiple interviews a prevailing theory of why Rodriguez was murdered. Detectives were able to track the movements of Rodriguez from a local night club in Ocala to a private residence in Ocala on the night he was killed.  Detectives learned that the victim was attacked over a misunderstanding related to text messages related to a love triangle. During the course of their investigation Detectives learned that the victim did not send the text messages and was not involved in the love triangle. Based off of these investigative leads, Detectives were able to identify the home where the victim was attacked, which ultimately led to the identification of three men who violently attacked and killed Rodriguez.

This cooperative investigation with the FDLE uncovered evidence tying Christian Cardona Cirilo (8/6/92) of Ocala, Omar Rodriguez Ortiz (10/5/81) of Ocala and Jesse Torres (5/6/88) of Ocala to this murder. LCSO Detective Mike McNeil secured warrants for the arrest of these three men for the crime of Premeditated First Degree Murder on July 13, 2020. 

LCSO Detectives, along with FDLE agents, the United States Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department executed all three arrest warrants yesterday and were able to successfully conclude this case. All three men were booked into the Marion County Jail where they are being held with NO BOND.

Sheriff McCallum said, “Murder cases where the victim has no ties to Levy County are some of the most difficult to solve. I am extremely proud of the hard work these dedicated detectives put into this case. Their ability to work with other agencies to solve this crime and offer closure to this family is unrivaled. The men responsible for the senseless murder of Jafet Padin Rodriguez will ultimately be transferred to the Levy County Detention facility where they will be held awaiting trial.”

**UPDATE** Non-Emergency Phone Lines Established

July 17, 2020 @1:40 pm

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office has established two non-emergency phone lines the public can use to contact our office. Only TWO lines are operational so delays in answering may occur.

NON-EMERGENCY lines are as follows:

352-727-2241 and 352-727-3091

Phone Service Disruption - ** Update 7/17/2020 @ 0930

July 17, 2020

The LCSO in cooperation with AT&T identified and corrected the issue with the disruption of our non-emergency administrative lines late last night. We regret any inconvenience this caused our citizens who were attempting to contact us. We are now asking our citizens who may have seen news broadcasts yesterday advising our public to contact 911 for all non-emergency matters to discontinue this practice. All non-emergency calls should be made to the LCSO administrative line (352) 486-5111.

LCSO MEMBERS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID 19

 


 

Sheriff Bobby McCallum reported on Thursday that 4 members of the LCSO staff had tested positive for COVID 19.  These employees came from the Law Enforcement, Detention and Administrative Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office.  Test results for additional employees are pending. 

In the early stages of the COVID outbreak, all LCSO employees were deemed “essential.” This means that staff members are not eligible for paid leave due to the pandemic.  Sheriff’s Office employees remain eligible for all Workers’ Compensation benefits when they are infected during the course of their employment and thus will remain paid if required to quarantine. 

McCallum stated that “Unfortunately the nature of our work does not allow for complete social distancing from the citizens as well as our co-workers.”  The Sheriff expects the number of positive cases to increase but the staff is doing everything they can to minimize any increase.  As of this date, no inmates housed at the Levy County Detention Center have tested positive for COVID 19. 

LCSO was operating short staffed in the Telecommunications, Detention and Law Enforcement Divisions prior to onset of COVID 19.  The positive cases among staff will add a degree of difficulty as they work to carry out their mission. 

 

 

 

LCSO PHONE LINE INTERRUPTION

  

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office is currently experiencing issues with the AT&T office phone lines.  These are non-emergency land lines.  Citizens are reporting that calls are not being answered or even dropped.  LCSO is working with AT&T to resolve the issues.  We can assure you that LCSO is not intentionally ignoring or dropping calls. 

At this time NO 911 emergency calls have been affected. 

We encourage the public to continue calling.  We will answer all calls as they come in.  Citizens can also contact LCSO through email by using the link: 

https://levyso.com/contact-us/

Thank you for your patience and understanding.  We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. 

 

Camp Site Burglar Apprehended

July 6, 2020

Michael J. Hammer (8/26/82) of Old Town, Florida was apprehended Thursday, July 2, 2020 by Levy County deputies. Hammer emerged from a wooded area near Otter Creek after three days on the run.

Deputies responded to a report of a suspicious incident in the McGee Branch Hunting Club on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. A third party called the LCSO and reported two men went into the McGee Branch Hunting Club to burglarize camp sites late Sunday night/Monday morning. A witness told the third party they heard two gunshots and only one man returned to the vehicle. The third party believed a murder had been committed and the missing person, Michael Hammer, had not been seen since. Hammer was not reported missing by family members because he was on active probation.

Deputies located evidence of camp site burglaries and began looking for Hammer. Efforts to locate him were hampered by limited information on the exact location of the alleged murder and high water in this remote location.

When Michael Hammer was located he was suffering from minor exposure due to his days on the run in the woods. He confessed to LCSO detectives to breaking into camp sites and was arrested. Hammer is being held in the Levy County Detention Facility and has been charged with burglary, grand theft and a probation violation. His bond was set at “No Bond.”

Cold Case Homicide Assistance Sought

 

 

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone with information regarding an unsolved murder come forward as the sixth-year anniversary of the investigation approaches.

Leo Rives, 31, a Williston resident was found dead next to his vehicle at 3571 NE 218th Avenue with multiple gunshot wounds on July 5, 2014. No arrests have been made in Leo’s murder.

Information regarding the killing of Leo continues to trickle in and progress is being made. We have reason to believe this was a coordinated and organized murder which potentially involved multiple individuals. We know there are individuals in the community who still have important information that can help solve this case and bring justice and closure to Leo’s children and family.

Crime Stoppers of Levy County has authorized a cash reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in Leo Rives’ murder.

Anyone wishing to provide information is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 352-486-5111 ext. 270, or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers at 1-877-349-8477.