5 arrested for out-of-state murder

MILAN TWP. — Deputies from the Erie County Sheriff's Office on Thursday arrested four Guatemalan nationals, who are wanted for murder in New Mexico, at a Milan-area hotel. Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said that his department was contacted Thursday morning by the Lea County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico, as it was investigating a murder in its county that occurred sometime around Jan. 1. "They had developed suspects that had fled from their jurisdiction and had tracked them to a hotel in Milan Township," Sigsworth said. Sigsworth added that deputies responded and stopped the four suspects in a vehicle as they attempted to leave the hotel parking lot. Additionally, Sigsworth said that all four suspects are reported to be Guatemalan nationals who are illegally in the U.S. and that Border Patrol was contacted. The four suspects are: • Elman Franco, 26, of Tatum, New Mexico, is charged through the state of New Mexico with murder, robbery, intimidation or retaliation against a witness, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. • Elder Franco, 30, unknown address in New Mexico, is charged with murder, robbery, intimidation or retaliation against a witness, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. • Maylina N. Santos, 28, unknown address, is charged through the state of New Mexico with tampering with evidence. • Manuel G. Morales, 46, of Clovis, New Mexico, is charged locally through Erie County with three counts of obstructing justice, each a third-degree felony. A fifth man, Angel Franco, 36, of Hobbs, New Mexico, was arrested in Lea County, New Mexico, according to a release from the Lea County Sheriff's Office, and is charged with tampering with evidence. The release did not specify Angel Franco's citizenship status. Morales is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. on Monday in Erie County Municipal Court. According to the release, the suspects face charges for Jan. 1 fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Elvis Santos, of Tatum, New Mexico. The same morning after investigators found Elvis Santos' body, authorities responded to a New Mexico hospital after another man — later determined to be Elman Franco — arrived with stab wounds. Elman Franco and other individuals not named in the release were taken to the Lea County Sheriff's Office for interviews. Investigators later issued arrest warrants absed on evidence gathered, the release states. It wasn't immediately clear if and when the three suspects being charged by New Mexico would be extradited back to that state.