Camas murder suspect’s son pleads not guilty to rendering assistance

While the suspect in the murder of Luz Guitron, of Camas, remains at large, his teenage son is facing a trial on a charge of first degree rendering criminal assistance.

Andrew Javier Juarez-Hunt, 19, of McMinnville, Oregon, entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment, July 12, in Clark County Superior Court, and his trial is scheduled for Oct. 8.

Juarez-Hunt’s father, Guillermo Juarez, and Guitron, a mother of three, had recently separated before Guitron was found stabbed to death on March 18, 2018. Camas police were dispatched at 1:35 p.m., to a home on the 2100 block of Northeast Everett Street, after Guitron’s 11-year-old son found her.

In talking with Camas police at 4:30 p.m. that day, Juarez-Hunt said he and his father had worked together earlier but Juarez left the job site and returned a short time later. The six-year-old son of Juarez and Guitron was with Juarez when he returned to work, and Juarez told his older son that “something bad happened” and they had to leave.

Juarez-Hunt told investigators his father used his cell phone briefly and then smashed it before they traveled to Hood River, Oregon, where Juarez got into another vehicle. Juarez-Hunt told police Juarez used a flip-style phone he had not seen before and was overheard telling someone he may be headed to Idaho.

Investigators went with Juarez-Hunt to the jobsite with the hope of finding the smashed cell phone, but they were not able to locate it. There was also no surveillance video showing him or his father in Hood River.

On March 20, Juarez-Hunt admitted he lied to investigators. According to the declaration of probable cause, Juarez-Hunt said he traveled with his father to Woodburn, Oregon, and never went to Hood River. They stopped at a shopping center in Woodburn, and each purchased clothes for Juarez. Juarez-Hunt said the clothes his father was wearing were dirty, and there was some blood on the pants.

Data from Juarez-Hunt’s cell phone show it was in use before and after the time Guitron’s murder was believed to be committed and was still being used for days after that.

The cell phone data showed that Juarez-Hunt had lied to investigators about his phone being smashed and left at the jobsite by Juarez.

“Andrew told me he lied to investigators to try and help Guillermo hide (from) authorities because, ‘he’s (my) dad,’” Camas Police Officer Scot Boyles wrote in the declaration of probable cause. “Andrew claimed he only knew ‘something bad’ happened and wasn’t aware that Luz had been killed until he arrived at the Camas Police Department and her family told him what happened.”

Juarez-Hunt posted $10,000 in bail and is on supervised release.