FBI, HPD, U.S. Marshals Capture Raleigh Murder Fugitive in Houston

Thirteen days after allegedly opening fire inside a Raleigh nightclub and crossing state lines, Giovanny Hernandez-Jaramillo ran out of road Friday morning when four Houston law enforcement agencies converged on a Houston-area home and took him into custody.

Hernandez-Jaramillo, 35, faces charges of murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury for the March 22 shooting at the Patio Nightclub in the 3900 block of New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina. Just before 1:30 a.m. that night, two men were shot at the club. One victim, 33-year-old Jorge Dorantes-Carranza, died from his injuries in the days that followed; the other remained hospitalized in serious condition.

The arrest required coordinated action from FBI Houston, the Houston Police Department, the Houston Homeland Security Task Force Fugitive Investigative Strike Team, and the USMS Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force. To close in on Hernandez-Jaramillo, investigators deployed fugitive warrants alongside interviews with family and friends, social media monitoring, and cellphone data.

Raleigh police publicly credited the effort. "The Raleigh Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the U.S. Marshals and the FBI for their invaluable assistance in this investigation," the department wrote in a statement.

The Houston arrest came one day after Raleigh police charged a local woman, Martha Jones, 52, with felony accessory after the fact. Court records allege Jones gave Hernandez-Jaramillo money and a new cell phone in the aftermath of the shooting, enabling him to leave North Carolina and evade capture. Investigators determined Jones had been in contact with Hernandez-Jaramillo as recently as Wednesday night before her Thursday arrest. She is being held at Wake County Courthouse without bond.

Hernandez-Jaramillo now faces an extradition hearing before he can be returned to North Carolina to stand trial. His capture is the latest example of Houston's multi-agency fugitive task forces serving as a critical backstop for out-of-state homicide investigations, a role that has grown alongside the city's position as a major transit and destination hub for those fleeing justice elsewhere.