In an unexpected series of events, a Dallas teenager was the subject of an AMBER Alert and then charged with capital murder hours later.
Natalie Navarro, 17, initially gained attention when an AMBER Alert was issued for her at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Friday after she went missing from an apartment complex in Far East Dallas under circumstances labeled as suspicious. Yordy “Jordy” Martinez, 21, was named as a possible suspect in her disappearance.
The alert was canceled when Navarro was found safe a few hours later in Webb County, not far from the southern border.
Her story took a drastic turn when the Garland Police Department identified her as one of two primary suspects in the murder of a 21-year-old from Mesquite. The other suspect is Martinez, and he is still at large.
Arturo Peña was discovered fatally shot inside a car on August 29 at Audubon Recreation Center in Garland, according to a press release from GPD. He had been reported missing to law enforcement in Dallas two days prior.
“There’s a lot of stuff going out, we’ve collected a lot of evidence, so we’re trying to process everything right now,” said Lt. Richard Maldonado, public information officer with the GPD, according to The Independent.
Authorities did not disclose what exactly led them to identify Navarro and Martinez as suspects.
Martinez, a previous offender with a felony indictment for allegedly firing gunshots into a house in Garland last year, is believed to have crossed the border into Mexico.
Meanwhile, Navarro is facing capital murder charges and will be transported from Webb County jail to Dallas County jail in the coming days.
Currently held on a $1 million bond, Navarro could face life imprisonment without parole or even the death penalty if found guilty.
She has yet to enter a plea since she will not face formal charges until she arrives at the Dallas County jail and the process is launched, as explained by Maldonado, according to People magazine. This could take as many as 15 days.
Homicides in the city limits of Dallas continue to rise, with 169 reported so far this year. This is a 6.3% year-over-year increase from 2022, according to the Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
Rising crime rates are most apparent in Downtown Dallas, where significantly more offenses — especially car thefts and drug violations — are logged compared to the downtown area of Fort Worth. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
Efforts to fight crime in Dallas have been hampered by a shortage of police officers. A City report previously recommended 4,000 officers to manage crime based on population size, with three officers needed for every 1,000 residents. Despite this recommendation, the City currently employs roughly 3,100 officers.
