Search warrants released in killing of ‘America’s Next Top Model’ contestant

Search warrants available Monday at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse offered new information on the investigation into a triple homicide that occurred nearly two weeks ago, just 1 mile north of uptown.

Emmanuel Jesus Rangel, 19, has been charged in the death of four people in a three-day span, including a former East Mecklenburg High student who was a contestant last year on “America’s Next Top Model.”

Police believe a Feb. 24 triple homicide on Norris Avenue was drug-related and that Rangel knew the people he’s accused of killing. The victims in that case were former model contestant Mirjana Puhar, Jonathan Cosme Alvarado and Jusmar Isiah Gonzaga-Garcia.

Rangel also has been charged with murder in connection with a Feb. 22 killing in a hotel parking lot in Matthews.

Newly released documents detailed several items that police seized Feb. 24 at the home on Norris Avenue where the three victims were found.

More than 60 items were listed on the warrants. Among them: a leopard print plastic purse, rope for the attic door, a plastic bin, a white and black bedspread, a plastic container bin, a two .38-caliber automatic casings, a wallet, a gold medal fragment, a metal teaspoon, a “brownish/reddish colored” substance wrapped in plastic, blender container, metal pipe, gun cleaning kit, cable cord, passport, cellphone, jump drive, cigarette butts, bloody footprint, green juice bottle cap, a black lighter, unused cigarette, package of peach cigarillos, a small wooden box, a knife, a black notebook, $140 in cash, keys, a 2002 Ford E-250 van and a “bill of sale with Mirjana Puhar on it,” the search warrant states.

Police also searched Rangel’s mother’s home in Concord on Feb. 27, according to documents.

“Based on information gathered during the investigation, it was said that Rangel took his handgun to his mother’s house in Concord,” the documents said.

The documents note that evidence in the case suggests that there were two different caliber handguns used during the shooting and that the second handgun had been recovered in Texas with the second suspect, although that individual was not named.

According to the documents, Rangel’s mother visited police headquarters on Feb. 27 to talk with detectives voluntary. She told police that Rangel brought his belongings to her home in Concord on Feb. 23 and that on Feb. 24, he “unpacked his belongings and stayed there that night,” documents said.

The search warrant also says that one of the victims in the triple homicide, Alvarado, had an “extensive collection” of athletic shoes, still in the boxes, that were missing after the killings.

According to court documents, Rangel’s mother told police that he brought several pairs of shoes home and “even offered them to family members.”

Police seized nine pairs of Air Jordans, one pair of Adidas shoes and one Hisense television from Rangel’s mother’s home.

Search documents were also released from the Matthews Police Department detailing their investigation into the death of Rosool Jaleel Harrell, 22, of Charlotte.

“The decedent’s girlfriend ... states that she witnessed two or three Hispanic males shooting into the vehicle before speeding away,” the police report states. “She identified one of the Hispanic males as ‘Amigo,’ an acquaintance of her boyfriend.”

The girlfriend told police that her boyfriend had walked from their hotel room to the parking lot to meet with the man identified as “Amigo.” She said that after he left, his cellphone – which he’d left in the hotel room – began to ring, showing that “Amigo” was calling. She said she ran and gave him his phone in the hallway, according to court documents.

Matthews Police searched the data from two cellphones seized in that case.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Search warrants released in killing of ‘America’s Next Top Model’ contestant."