Four charged in 'drug-related' murder of 17-year-old in Maine after month-long manhunt

Four fugitives were charged in connection to a drug-related shooting that left a teenager in Maine last month, police said.

The suspects were tracked to and arrested in Massachusetts and Texas.

Maine State Police initially identified three suspects, each with ties to Massachusetts, thought to be involved in the Nov. 4 homicide in Machias, Maine. Investigators later identified a fourth suspect, who was taken into custody in Massachusetts about a month later.

The multi-state manhunt began after Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of what sounded like gunshots near High Street around 12:30 a.m. but did not find anything at the scene, according to a statement from the Major Crimes Unit.

That morning, a neighbor reportedly found 17-year-old Brandin Guerrero of Massapequa, New York, lying dead on the lawn.

Investigators determined that one suspect was likely in the South Coast area of Massachusetts, while the other two suspects fled New England.

Massachusetts State Troopers, Bristol County Sheriff’s Deputies, Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit Detectives, New Bedford Police, and U.S. Marshals took Nathanael Genao, 23, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, into custody on Nov. 19.

That night, police in Fort Worth, Texas, arrested Juan Ortiz, 27 of Concord, New Hampshire, and Emanuel Ramos, 30, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, according to The Portland Press Herald.

Genao and Ramos were both charged with felony murder, while Ortiz was charged with murder, officials said. All three are expected to be extradited to Maine to face charges.

Maine investigators later identified a Massachusetts man as a fourth suspect.

Authorities combed the city of Taunton, knocking on several doors in search of Jorge Pagan-Sanchez, 41, on Dec. 3.

“After being denied entry into the residence, Troopers and Officers set up surveillance of the building. Approximately five minutes later, authorities reportedly spotted Pagan-Sanchez running from the address, and placed him under arrest as a fugitive from justice,” according to the Massachusetts State Police.

Pagan-Sanchez will also be extradited to Maine, where he will face felony murder charges.