Deported Gang Member, Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia, Arrested for Homicide in Tennessee: Shocking Case Unveiled

A 31-year-old gang member, who had been deported twice from the U.S. to Honduras in the past decade, now faces charges of criminal homicide after a charred body was discovered in a burned car in Tennessee last month.

Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia, the accused, is alleged to have fatally shot Elmer Nahum Miranda-Martinez, 37, as reported by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, who arrested him on Tuesday.

The victim's badly burned remains were found on September 27 inside the trunk of a vehicle that had been set ablaze and abandoned in a wooded area along Franklin Limestone Road in Nashville. It was a worker who came to clear brush in the vicinity, finding the still-smoldering and wholly burnt vehicle around 10:30 in the morning.

Detectives believe that Miranda-Martinez was shot and killed before his body was placed in the car, but the motive behind the shooting is still being investigated.

While specific case details were not disclosed, an affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime explains how the case unraveled. At the time of the autopsy, the victim's identity was unknown. During the investigation, someone provided information about the victim's identity and the homicide.

According to the affidavit, one informant stated that the defendant had confessed to shooting and killing the victim. Others who were present at the time of the murder reportedly shared detailed accounts of how the crime occurred and how the suspect disposed of the victim's body.

In an email to Law&Crime, ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) provided details about the suspect's deportations:

- Castro was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol near Laredo, Texas, on June 27, 2002. The former Immigration and Naturalization Service released him into parental custody on July 5, 2002. An immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States in absentia on July 23, 2005.

- On October 20, 2010, Castro was captured by a federal fugitive task force in a joint operation involving Homeland Security Investigations and the Metro Nashville Police Department Gang Unit. He was identified as a member of the Sur 13 gang. On November 5, 2010, he was deported to Honduras.

- On October 2, 2018, border patrol agents apprehended Castro near Hidalgo, Texas. He was issued a notice to reinstate his prior removal order, and on March 23, 2019, he was deported to Honduras again. Authorities revealed that he subsequently re-entered the United States at an unspecified time and location.

Castro-Garcia is currently in custody without bond at the Davidson County Jail, pending the outcome of his state criminal proceedings. He is set to appear in court on October 20.

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