Police Say Man Admits Killing Woman Over Smuggling Fee

Police say a South Gate man has confessed to killing a 36-year-old woman because he didn’t want to pay the $2,600 fee she charged him for transporting his illegal immigrant nephew and a friend.

Salvador Velasco, 27, a convicted felon who had been criminally deported two years ago, and his roommate Juan Luis Rodriguez, 25, are scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges Tuesday.

On Sunday, investigators said Velasco confessed to the murder, led police to the gun he used in the shooting and implicated his roommate as the driver of the getaway car.

Velasco told police he didn’t intend to shoot Maria S. Gutierrez, but he knew he wasn’t going to pay her for transporting his 21-year-old nephew and a friend from one Huntington Park “safe house”--where newly arrived illegal immigrants can hide from the authorities--to another.

“There was no anger [on Velasco’s part] involved,” Huntington Park Police Det. Mark Bassett said. “Ms. Gutierrez started to drive away and he fired.”

Both men are being held at the Huntington Park Jail, Velasco is being held without bail and Rodriguez is being held on $1-million bail.

Gutierrez, who worked for unknown immigrant smugglers, often chauffeured illegal immigrants from a San Bernardino County safe house to their families in Los Angeles County, Bassett said.

The Fontana woman was shot once in the head about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday while haggling with Velasco over the payment to transport the two young men, who sat in the back seat of the truck during the argument, Bassett said.

Police said Gutierrez was shot as she tried to speed away from Velasco. Her truck then crashed into a light pole three blocks away.

After the crash, the two young men jumped from the vehicle, fled with Velasco and Rodriguez and are still at large, police said.

A witness alerted police that Velasco was involved in the incident and told officers where to find him. Velasco was arrested at his mother’s home in Norwalk on Saturday morning. Velasco told police that Rodriguez had been involved.

Rodriguez, a used car salesman, was arrested at a Huntington Park dealership about 6:20 p.m. Saturday, after someone saw his picture on the evening news and called police.

At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez was wanted by police for driving with a suspended license and possession of methamphetamine, Bassett said.