In the early morning hours of October 24, 2024, a citizen flagged down patrol officers in the area of Veterans Parkway and Riverdale Road in Riverdale, Maryland, to report an unresponsive man on the side of the road. Upon investigation, authorities discovered 38-year-old Jeiver Pozuelos Cervantes of Hyattsville suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Prince George's County Police Department's Homicide Unit immediately began an investigation
into the fatal shooting. Initially, they worked to determine a motive and identify any suspects. While the preliminary investigation suggested the crime was not a random act, details about what led to the shooting were not immediately available. A reward of up to $25,000 was offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. The victim's family, who described Cervantes as a devoted father, son, and brother, started a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses and to repatriate his body to his native Guatemala.
More than six months after the tragic incident, a significant breakthrough was made in the case. The Prince George's County Police Department announced that two men had been charged in connection with Cervantes's death. Investigators determined that the motive for the shooting was robbery. The suspects were identified as 33-year-old Jose Guardado-Orellana and 30-year-old Santiago De La O Lemus.
De La O Lemus was apprehended in South Carolina in December 2024 by the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service. Guardado-Orellana was taken into custody on May 12, 2025, by the PGPD's Fugitive Unit with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. Both men have been charged with second-degree murder and other related charges. They are currently in the custody of the Prince George's County Department of Corrections on a no-bond status.
