Three suspects in murder case arrested in Conn.

Three men connected to the murder of a 24-year-old man in Manassas last weekend were tracked down to Connecticut and taken into custody by U.S. Marshals late Thursday.

Sebastian Cortez Hernandez -- who was deported to Mexico five years ago -- and two others were arrested in the City of Meriden around 11 p.m., according to Manassas City police.

Hernandez, also known as "Cebolla" or "Onion," Jose Antonio Ontiveros, 27, and Santos Ontiveros, 24, all of 9733 Bragg Lane, have each been charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, said Sgt. Tim Neumann, police spokesman.

According to police, the three were involved in the killing of Omar Florencio-Vazquez, who lived in the George-town South neighborhood in the city, on May 31.

That night, Florencio-Vazquez, his two brothers and a cousin walked to the Grant Avenue Shopping Center to get something to eat, police said.

The four decided to turn back after Florencio-Vazquez saw a group of about 10 males who had attacked him two weeks earlier, police said.

But the group followed them out of the shopping center as they walked home, Neumann said.

One of the men from the group then pulled out a gun and shot the 24-year-old several times, killing him.

Word of the murder quickly spread through the grapevine, starting with a call from an out-of-breath and panicked witness to the murder asking to be picked up "because police were everywhere," according to an affidavit filed this week in Prince William County Circuit Court.

During the call, that the witness said "Onion" or "Cebolla" had just shot someone, according to the document.

The next day, police received a tip with information on who was involved in the shooting.

According to the affidavit, the one witness was later interviewed and confirmed the fight had occurred two weeks before the killing and that it involved the traditional Mexican clothing Florencio-Vazquez was wearing.

Early Thursday morning, police searched a residence in the 9800 block of Buckner Road, where authorities believe Hernandez fled to after the shooting, and seized ammunition, a white T-shirt with a red stain, a .45-caliber pistol, cocaine and other items, court documents state.

A motive for the killing has not yet been established, Neumann said Friday.

All three are being held in Connecticut pending extradition hearings, he said.

Hernandez was deported from the U.S. to Mexico in October 2003, four months after Prince William County police charged him with gang participation and other criminal offenses, police said.

The investigation continues.

Staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062.