6 September 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Police in Garden City have arrested a woman in connection to the fatal shooting of Ernie Ortiz in Sept. 2019.
The suspect in the case was not in Kansas when she was caught. Garden City police say they worked with U.S. Marshals to locate her.
She was found Wednesday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Ortiz was the owner of El Conquistador, a restaurant in Garden City. In September 2019, officers responded to a man-down call in the area of Buffalo Jones Avenue and Bancroft Street.
When officers arrived, they found Ortiz lying in a parking lot with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A suspect was arrested shortly after the homicide but was later released as the charges were dismissed.
Next Wednesday, Sept. 14, is the four-year anniversary of Ortiz’s murder. He owned the El Conquistador restaurant for 39 years.
An investigation is still ongoing.
KSN does not name suspects until they are formally charged with a crime.