Andrew Javier Juarez-Hunt, 19, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Juarez-Hunt in mid-June. (Nathan Howard/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
The teenage son of a man wanted in the death of a Camas woman appeared in Clark County Superior Court on Thursday morning to face allegations that he lied to police about helping his father after the slaying.
Andrew Javier Juarez-Hunt, 19, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Juarez-Hunt in mid-June.
Deputy Prosecutor Katie Sinclair asked the court to set bail at $50,000. She said Juarez-Hunt does not have a criminal history, but there was concern for community safety based on the allegations.
Judge Robert Lewis set bail at $10,000 and an arraignment hearing for July 12. Juarez-Hunt did not qualify for a court-appointed defense attorney and must hire counsel.
Juarez-Hunt’s 11-year-old brother arrived home in the 2100 block of Northeast Everett Street about 1:30 p.m. March 18 and found the body of his mother, Luz Guitron, 35. Camas police reported that Guitron appeared to have been stabbed multiple times.
Police identified Guillermo Juarez, 38, as a suspect. Juarez and Guitron had been dating for several years and have a child in common, police said.
On the day of the killing, Juarez-Hunt told police that he and Juarez had been working together earlier, but his father left the work site only to come back and relay, “Something bad happened,” and they had to leave, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Juarez brought his 6-year-old son with him, according to the affidavit. Police were searching for the boy in the hours following the discovery of Guitron’s body.
“(Juarez-Hunt) told investigators that (Juarez) used his cellphone briefly and then smashed it prior to them leaving the job site,” the affidavit says.
In his initial interview with police, Juarez-Hunt said they traveled to Hood River, Ore., where his father got into another vehicle and left. He said Juarez was using an older cellphone he’d never seen before, and he overheard his father say he may go to Idaho, according to the affidavit.
Investigators went to the father and son’s worksite but were unable to find a smashed cellphone, according to the affidavit. Phone records later determined that Juarez-Hunt lied about the destroyed phone, the affidavit says.
On March 20, detectives confronted Juarez-Hunt about his earlier story, and he “admitted he had lied,” the affidavit says. Juarez-Hunt said he and his father never went to Hood River. The two men went to Woodburn, Ore., and shopped for clothes. The clothing Juarez had been wearing was dirty and some blood was on his pants, Juarez-Hunt told police in the second interview, according to the affidavit.
“(Juarez-Hunt) told me he lied to investigators to try and help (Juarez) hide because, ‘He’s my dad.’ (Juarez-Hunt) claimed he only knew ‘something bad’ happened and wasn’t aware that (Guitron) had been killed until he arrived at the Camas Police Department, and her family told him what happened,” Sgt. Scot Boyles wrote in the affidavit.
Juarez’s whereabouts are unknown.
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