$50,000 Reward Offered in Search for Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada After Irving Double Homicide
Capital Murder Suspect Accused of Killing Two Adults in Front of a Five-Year-Old Child
Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada is wanted in connection with the January 19, 2024, shooting deaths of two adults in Irving, Texas. According to the FBI, both victims were shot and killed in front of the five-year-old son of one of the victims. Investigators determined that Paguada Paguada fled the United States following the killings, turning the Texas murder investigation into an international fugitive search.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Paguada Paguada's arrest and conviction. He has ties to Honduras, making his possible movement outside the United States a significant part of the investigation. State authorities have charged him with capital murder, while a separate federal warrant was issued after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Two Adults Killed in Irving, Texas
The case began on January 19, 2024, when two adults were shot to death in Irving, a city within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Authorities identified Paguada Paguada as the suspect in the killings and subsequently began efforts to locate him. The circumstances were made particularly disturbing by the presence of a young child during the shootings.
According to federal authorities, the five-year-old son of one of the victims witnessed both adults being shot to death. The child survived, but the killings left investigators pursuing a suspect accused of committing two homicides in the presence of a child. The investigation quickly expanded beyond Irving after authorities determined that Paguada Paguada had left the country.
Investigation Leads to Paguada Paguada
Investigators gathered evidence following the shootings and identified Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada as the person wanted in connection with the deaths. Within days, authorities moved to obtain an arrest warrant charging him with one of the most serious offenses available under Texas law. The investigation also revealed that he was no longer believed to be within the United States.
His departure created additional challenges for local investigators. A homicide suspect who crosses an international border can require cooperation among local, federal, and foreign law-enforcement authorities before an arrest can be made. Information concerning travel, relatives, associates, employment, residences, telephone numbers, or other connections can become particularly important in establishing a fugitive's current location.
Capital Murder Charge Filed
On January 24, 2024, five days after the killings, a state arrest warrant was issued for Paguada Paguada in Dallas County, Texas. He was charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths. The warrant authorized authorities to arrest him and bring him before the Texas judicial system to face the charge.
Capital murder represents an extremely serious criminal charge under Texas law and can apply under specifically defined circumstances established by statute. The filing of the charge does not itself constitute a conviction, and Paguada Paguada would be entitled to have the case resolved through the judicial process. His departure from the United States, however, meant authorities first had to locate and apprehend him.
Suspect Fled the United States
Investigators determined that Paguada Paguada fled the United States after the January 19 killings. The FBI identifies Honduras as a country with which he has ties, making those connections relevant to the continuing fugitive investigation. Federal authorities have not limited the public search information to a specific Honduran city in the details released with the wanted notice.
Leaving the United States can significantly complicate a state murder investigation. Local police ordinarily have authority within their jurisdiction, while international fugitive cases can require federal assistance and communication with law-enforcement agencies in other countries. This is one reason a separate federal charge was eventually brought against Paguada Paguada.
Federal Authorities Enter the Fugitive Search
The investigation expanded into a federal fugitive case after authorities determined Paguada Paguada had fled. On February 29, 2024, a federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. He was federally charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The federal charge is separate from the underlying Texas capital murder prosecution. The state case concerns the two killings, while the federal case concerns his flight from prosecution. Together, the warrants allow multiple levels of law enforcement to participate in efforts to locate and arrest him.
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution
Federal unlawful-flight cases can provide an important mechanism for the FBI to assist state and local authorities searching for fugitives who have crossed state or international boundaries. Once federal jurisdiction is established, federal investigators can use their resources and relationships with other agencies to assist with locating the wanted person.
In Paguada Paguada's case, the federal warrant was issued approximately six weeks after the killings. By then, investigators had determined that he had fled the United States. His whereabouts subsequently became the subject of an FBI wanted notice and reward.
Ties to Honduras
The FBI specifically states that Paguada Paguada has ties to Honduras. Those connections are significant because investigators believe he left the United States following the killings. A fugitive with family, friends, business relationships, or other established connections in another country may seek assistance or attempt to establish a residence through those networks.
Authorities have not publicly identified every person or location associated with Paguada Paguada in Honduras. That information may be deliberately limited to protect investigative methods or ongoing law-enforcement activity. Members of the public should therefore rely on official identifying information rather than attempting to independently investigate suspected associates.
International Fugitive Investigation
Searching for a person believed to have fled internationally presents challenges that are substantially different from an ordinary local arrest effort. Investigators may need to examine travel records, border movements, identification documents, financial activity, communications, family connections, employment, and information supplied by foreign authorities.
An arrest outside the United States can also involve additional legal procedures before a suspect can be returned to face prosecution. Those procedures vary depending on the country where the person is located, applicable treaties, citizenship, immigration status, and other legal considerations. Locating the fugitive is therefore only one part of a potentially complicated international process.
$50,000 FBI Reward
The FBI is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada. A reward of this size can encourage people who possess meaningful information about a fugitive's whereabouts to come forward. Information from former associates, relatives, acquaintances, employers, neighbors, or others can sometimes provide the breakthrough investigators need.
Even seemingly limited information can become important when combined with evidence already possessed by investigators. A telephone number, recent photograph, address, workplace, vehicle, online account, travel detail, or known associate could potentially help authorities establish a current location. Investigators can then independently evaluate and corroborate the information.
A Child Witnessed the Killings
One of the most disturbing aspects of the case is that the two victims were killed in front of a five-year-old child. Federal authorities state that the child was the son of one of the adults who was killed. The child was therefore present not only during a double homicide but during the killing of his own parent.
Children exposed to extreme violence can experience consequences long after the immediate criminal investigation concludes. While the FBI's wanted information focuses primarily on locating the suspect, the circumstances surrounding the child emphasize the human impact behind the criminal case. Two people lost their lives, and a young child was left as a direct witness to the violence.
From Local Murder Investigation to Federal Manhunt
The timeline of the case demonstrates how rapidly the investigation expanded. The killings occurred on January 19, 2024, and a Dallas County arrest warrant charging Paguada Paguada with capital murder was issued on January 24. Investigators then determined that he had fled the United States.
By February 29, a federal arrest warrant had been issued through the Northern District of Texas. The FBI's involvement transformed the search from a local and state effort into a federal fugitive investigation with the ability to pursue leads extending outside Texas and potentially outside the country.
Two Separate Arrest Warrants
Paguada Paguada is wanted under both state and federal authority. The Dallas County warrant concerns the capital murder charge arising from the deaths of the two adults. The federal warrant concerns unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The existence of separate warrants allows different agencies to pursue their respective parts of the case while cooperating toward the same immediate objective: locating Paguada Paguada and taking him into custody. If arrested, the underlying murder accusations would ultimately need to be addressed through the appropriate Texas court proceedings.
Why Current Information Matters
Because Paguada Paguada is believed to have left the United States, information about his current activities may be more useful than older information concerning where he previously lived. A person who encounters him outside Texas may not know anything about the Irving investigation or recognize that he is wanted by American authorities.
Current photographs, telephone numbers, addresses, employment information, social-media activity, travel details, and known associates could potentially assist investigators. People with connections in Honduras may also encounter him without realizing the FBI is actively seeking information concerning his location.
The $50,000 reward increases public awareness of the case and provides an additional incentive for people with credible information to contact authorities. Tips should be provided directly to law enforcement so investigators can determine their reliability and significance.
Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada Remains Wanted
Hector Vicente Paguada Paguada remains wanted in connection with the January 19, 2024, killings of two adults in Irving, Texas. Authorities accuse him of shooting both victims to death in front of the five-year-old son of one of the victims and subsequently fleeing the United States. A Dallas County warrant charging him with capital murder was issued on January 24, 2024, followed by a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on February 29, 2024.
Paguada Paguada has ties to Honduras, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts should provide it directly to appropriate law-enforcement authorities and should not attempt to confront, follow, detain, or apprehend him.
