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WANTED FOR FELONY RAPE














Armando Rodriguez Aguilar / Daniel Juarez "Bonilla"

By GIL BRADY
The Cowboy Times

Filed 9:41 am

JACKSON, Wyo. (CT) – Two of four men accused of violating women on the Jackson Town Square last summer were convicted of conspiracy to commit sexual assault Wednesday. Two others, rapists officials say, are still at large.

Laramie County’s 1st District Judge Peter G. Arnold, who presided over the case, sentenced Frederico Perez Lopez, 19, of Jackson, and Gustavo Zuniga Bonilla, 21, of Big Sky, MT, to between 3 and 5 years and 4 and 6 years, respectively, for conspiracy to commit sexual assault in the third degree, said Deputy Teton County Attorney Nicole Krieger.

Though Krieger said neither Perez or Bonilla touched the first victim, they are, she reportedly argued in court, “just as guilty as the primary actor” under the conspiracy law. Arnold also ordered both men to pay a $500 fine to a crime victim’s fund, Krieger said.

Because of her purported relationship with a family member of one victim, 9th District Judge Nancy J. Guthrie removed herself from the case.

Following the assault and rape of two women within minutes of bars closing here on Aug. 21 last year, Lopez and Bonilla, both illegal immigrants, and two accomplices became the focus of an intense, nationwide manhunt—involving Wyoming’s Division of Criminal Investigation, Teton County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming Highway Patrol and outside authorities—spanning to California and the Mexican border, Jackson Police Detective-Sgt. Todd Smith has said.

Within two weeks, immigration authorities had detained Bonilla on an immigration violation in Big Sky, MT, and police had arrested Lopez in Jackson.

Krieger and Smith said that Lopez received a reduced sentence for signing an affidavit and providing evidence for Bonilla’s arrest and conviction. Lopez’ cooperation also led to a federal warrant being issued for two acquaintances alleged to have raped a second woman on the same night, Smith said.

Authorities and affidavits say that Armando Rodriguez Aguilar and Daniel Juarez (a.k.a. Daniel Bonilla) are still at large, possibly in Mexico, and wanted for felony rape of a woman who survived her attack. Smith said that both men should be considered dangerous and that a federal warrant for both extends to Mexico. It is believed, he added, that Daniel Juarez “Bonilla” is related to Gustavo Zuniga Bonilla.

Police say anonymous sources have accused Aguilar or Juarez of assaulting other women, prior to last year's alleged offense.

Lopez’s affidavit describes Aguilar and Juarez discussing an assault on another woman one year earlier. Charging documents say that Lopez alleged Juarez was the most excited to “touch a woman” as the four conspired to find an intoxicated female before leaving the Log Cabin Saloon around 2 am.

Police describe Daniel Juarez “Bonilla” as 18-22 years old, 5’6”, 140-150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Armando Aguilar, they say, is 23 years old, 5’4,” 145 pounds, with black hair, dark eyes, and sometimes sports a Fu Manchu-style mustache. Both are Hispanic, reportedly speak English and have worked as laborers.

According to courthouse records, after Aguilar and Juarez assaulted and raped the second woman for about 20 minutes in a back alley near the Town Square, the victim alleges both men kissed her and, before running off, said: “Thank you, thank you!”

A Mexican national, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said they once saw Aguilar driving a late 90s white Eagle Talon around Jackson, and that Aguilar and Juarez were from Tlaxcala, Mexico.

“My office wants these rapists badly,” Teton County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Weichman has said. “And we will take cooperation in any way we can get it. If anyone knows anything about [Aguilar’s or Juarez’s] whereabouts, they should call my office or the police.”

Police and courthouse officials say Lopez and Gustavo Bonilla will serve their sentences at Rawlins state penitentiary and have 11 months credit for time served since their arrests. Both face felony deportation to Mexico upon their prison release, Smith said.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Armando Aguilar or Daniel Juarez “Bonilla” should call Teton County dispatch at (307) 733.2331 or CrimeStoppers at (307) 733.5148.

CrimeStoppers has offered a reward of $10,000 for help in finding and bringing Aguilar or Juarez “Bonilla” to justice.

Photo Captions & Credits: (1) "Armando Rodriguez Aguilar" & (2) "Daniel Juarez 'Bonilla'" courtsey of JPD

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