Charges Upgraded in St. Joseph Double Homicide

Charges have been upgraded against two of the suspects in a double homicide in St. Joseph.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports that Omar Martinez-Velez and Luis Omar Robles-Vargas now each face two felony counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. They initially were charged with second-degree murder in the July 2016 shooting deaths of 22-year-old Kevin Villegas-Melendez and 25-year-old Raymond Gonzalez-Ortiz.

No attorney is listed for Martinez-Velez in online court records. Robles-Vargas' attorney, Stephen Higinbotham, said his client has pleaded not guilty but declined to comment further.

Three other people have entered guilty pleas in the killings. One person admitted to second-degree murder and two others to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.