Post by Scumhunter on Apr 28, 2019 3:21:09 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office website)
Fugitive Profile as of April 28th, 2019: (Based on Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office website- most wanted section profile)
Offense(s): FTA: CT 1)MANSLAUGHTER CT 2)THIRD DEGREE FELONY MURDER CT 3)AGGRAVATED BATTERY (BENCH WARRANT)
Photo Date: 5/15/2000
Wanted As Of: 4/1/2019
Alias: Tomas Palmillas Ruiz; Hipolito O Ortega; Thomas P Ruiz; Hipolito Olvera Ortega
DOB: 8/13/1974
Place of Birth: Mexico
Height: 5 – 9
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Weight: 180 lbs
Identifying Marks: Scar: Right Cheek
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Hipolito Ortega is wanted for his alleged involvement in a cold case from 2000 in Palm Beach County.
According to early 2000's South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports, then 28-year-old Jason Mease, who was originally from North Carolina, was visiting a friend in May 2000 when two men staying at the apartment stole $100 worth of crack cocaine from a drug dealer. Friends of the dealer came to the apartment, and a fight ensued. During the melee, Mease attempted to jump through a window. Sadly, glass cut an artery in Mease's leg and he bled to death.
Then 21-year old Francisco Olvera and 28-year-old Hipolito Ortega, both brothers, would be charged in the case. However, they would disappear in July of 2001 shortly after Olvera cut off his ankle monitor while awaiting trial.
Olvera would be caught soon afterwards. However, facing manslaughter charges and potentially up to 15 years in prison, Olvera was convicted of only misdemeanor assault and sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Ortega, however, apparently has never decided to take his chances, and to this day is still listed on the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office website as one of their most wanted fugitives.
www.pbso.org/ortega-hipolito/
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-07-11-0107110095-story.html
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2000-05-16-0005160247-story.html
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-11-01-0111010330-story.html
Thoughts? As of this posting date (4/28/2019), Ortega is still listed as a wanted fugitive on the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office website (see link above) and he still is listed as having a warrant in Florida's public access wanted persons search: pas.fdle.state.fl.us/pas/restricted/PAS/person/WantedPersons.jsf
Oddly, the FDLE site has his warrant as being from 2018 for "bail- secured bond." Not sure what that's about but I put 2001 as the wanted year in the threat title since that is the year Ortega fled.
Now with the technicalities aside, I get that some will argue that Olvera and Ortega likely didn't set out to kill Mease. Or at the very least, Mease died as a result of his own injury as opposed to something done to him by the suspects. However, it has been stated numerous times that when someone dies while you are committing a violent felony such as robbery, you are usually in the eyes of the law considered responsible for that person's death. Had Olvera and (allegedly) Ortega never broke back into the apartment and started a fight, Mease would still be alive today.
Obviously, this is a unique case, quite frankly this was a freak accident that normally shouldn't result in death, and Olvera was not found to be responsible. Even I have to admit I would struggle with the legalities of this case if I were on a jury. However, Ortega is the one who chose to not take his chances with a trial. And just because one person gets away with a crime (of course a matter of opinion as to whether or not you think Olvera got away with it) doesn't mean you excuse the other person involved in the same crime.
So wherever Ortega is, he still in my opinion needs to be caught for the justice system to decide his fate rather than him.
Admin Note #1: Based on wanted location, our advice for anyone with information on this fugitive's whereabouts would be to contact Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County: www.crimestopperspbc.com/mobile-home/
Admin Note #2: If you have any (news-related) updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
