Suspect in Deadly Crime Spree in Dallas, Cedar Hill Is Three-Time Deportee

The suspect in a deadly crime spree in Cedar Hill and Dallas on Sunday was deported from the U.S. three times before his arrest outside Austin on Tuesday.

Silvestre Franco-Luviano, 40, was taken into custody about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of North Austin Avenue in Georgetown.

Silvestre Franco-Luviano

Police suspect him of committing at least two murders, two aggravated robberies, a kidnapping and arson in just three days.

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Franco-Luviano was first deported from Dallas to Mexico in June 1996 following criminal convictions, according to Carl Rusnok, director of communications for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He was again deported in October 2009 after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen at the border crossing in Hidalgo.

Immigration officials then found Franco-Luviano in an Austin jail on Oct. 13, 2011. After he served his prison sentence, Franco-Luviano was deported to Mexico for a third time on March 10, 2014.

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Police believe Franco-Luviano’s crime spree began Sunday night. Ruben Junior Moreno, 33, was found dead in his Hummer about 11 p.m. on the shoulder of the 4300 block of Spur 408.

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Another victim was found at a Texaco Station in the 200 block of South Highway 67. Security camera footage shows a man, believed to be Franco-Luviano, drive up next to Welton Betts, 44, fatally shoot him and then steal the victim’s vehicle, forcing Betts’ wife out at gunpoint, according to Lt. Colin Chenault, a Cedar Hill police spokesman.

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A short distance away, another victim called police to report a man had broken into a home in the 800 block of Ash Lane, took the keys to the person’s silver Lexus sedan and fled. No one was injured.

Authorities initially believed Franco-Luviano had fled to Louisiana, but later refocused their efforts on Georgetown after the stolen Lexus was found abandoned there Monday afternoon.

Before the Lexus was dumped, Georgetown police believe Franco-Luviano may have kidnapped a man at gunpoint about 7:35 a.m. Monday at the Bealls in the 1100 block of Rivery Boulevard where the victim was working.

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