Ortiz, who confessed to shooting four women in the head and leaving their bodies on... (Associated Press) 
 
 LAREDO, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the indictment of a U.S. Border Patrol agent on a capital murder charge in the slaying of four women (all times local): 
 
 4:30 p.m. 
 
 A prosecutor says he considered the "horrific nature" of the killings and the suspect's vigilante mentality when deciding to pursue the death penalty against a U.S. Border Patrol agent who confessed to killing four female sex workers. Juan David Ortiz Image: Juan David Ortiz / Webb County 
 
 In describing why the indictment was for just one capital murder charge instead of four murder charges, Alaniz said a person "commits capital murder if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the death of more than one individual during different criminal transactions but pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct." “The scheme in this case from Ortiz’s own words was to clean up the streets of Laredo by targeting this community of individuals who he perceived to be disposable, that no one would miss and that he did not give value to,” he said. The agent, Juan David Ortiz, is suspected in the killings of four women and the kidnapping of a fifth in rural Texas, Webb County District Attorney Isidro R. Alaniz said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The victims have been identified by authorities as Melissa Ramirez, 29, who police say was killed on Sept. 3; Claudine Ann Luera, 42, who police say was killed on Sept. 6; Guiselda Alicia Hernandez, 35; and Janelle Ortiz, 28, a transgender woman whose birth name was Humberto Ortiz. Ortiz, 35, was indicted on one count of capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint and evading arrest, the district attorney's office said in a statement. He has been jailed on a $2.5 million bond since his Sept. 15 arrest in the border town of Laredo. Authorities have said the victims were sex workers whom Ortiz targeted for their vulnerability. Ortiz, who had been with Border Patrol for 10 years and is a Navy veteran, was arrested after a woman he allegedly tried to kidnap escaped from his pickup truck and sought help from police in September.
– A Border Patrol agent who allegedly killed four women and kidnapped another has been indicted on a capital murder charge, the AP reports. Juan David Ortiz, 35, initially faced four murder charges after authorities arrested him in the border town on Sept. 15. The charge was upgraded because, prosecutors say, Ortiz caused the death of more than one person in service of the “same scheme or course of conduct,” NBC reports, which adds that prosecutors will seek the death penalty. In this case, the Ortiz’s stated motivation for the alleged slayings was “to clean up the streets of Laredo,” Webb County DA Isidro Alaniz said Wednesday. Ortiz, a Navy veteran and 10-year Border Patrol agent, also faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint, and evading arrest. Authorities say Ortiz picked up the victims, all of whom were sex workers or had drug problems, and shot them during a two-week period in September. Ortiz has reportedly confessed to the killings. The victims are Melissa Ramirez, 29; Claudine Ann Luera, 42; Guiselda Alicia Hernandez, 35; and Janelle Ortiz, 28. Calling the murders “horrific,” Alaniz said the women were killed “in a cold, callous, and calculating way.” (A security guard allegedly killed this tourist.)