Three NYPD detectives have returned from Mexico, ending their hunt for a man suspected of fatally stabbing a beloved youth soccer coach near Union Square earlier this month. Publicly, the NYPD continues to express confidence that it will bring suspect Orlando Orea back to New York to face justice; yesterday NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters the detectives "received excellent cooperation from the Mexican authorities and they worked with Interpol in Mexico City as well." But the Daily News contacted the deputy commissioner of the Puebla State Police, and he said that his office knew nothing about it.
"This is the first time I hear this name,” Deputy Commissioner Segismundo Doguin Garay told the News. “I assure you, if any of my officers come across him, we’ll detain him and get him to the right authorities." Good to know! A spokesperson for the attorney general of Mexico also tells the News, "We simply haven’t gotten a request from Interpol to look for him."
(Michael Jones)
Orea, suspected of killing 25-year-old coach Michael Jones near Union Square, is believed to have fled to Puebla, his hometown, about 50 miles from Mexico’s capital. Although the NYPD says detectives have "lots of points of contact they’ll keep in communication with," finding him presents challenges—Mexico City's population is 20 million, and Puebla is dotted with countless small villages where a fugitive could hide.
At this point, investigators believe Orea mistook Jones for a man who intervened in an earlier argument between Orea and a woman at Bunga’s Den at 137 West 14th Street. The two fatefully crossed paths around 4:30 a.m. on October 7th, and surveillance cameras reportedly show their interaction quickly escalated into violence. Orea allegedly left Jones to die on the sidewalk, and managed to flee the country hours before he was identified and put on a No-Fly list. But before departing, he left an apology note to his brother and the mother of his child: “Love you guys very much. Hope you can forgive me. I’m sorry.”
