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Texas teen at center of Amber Alert now facing capital murder charge, police say

Natalie Navarro’s bond set at $1 million, records show

Natalie Navarro (Texas Department of Public Safety)

GARLAND, Texas – A Texas teenager has been charged with capital murder after police initially issued an Amber Alert out of fear for her safety.

The Dallas Police Department issued an Amber Alert for 17-year-old Natalie Navarro on Friday, Sept. 1 believing her to be in “grave or immediate danger.”

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Law enforcement officials issued the Amber Alert after an investigation into the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Arturo Pena, who was found shot to death in a car on Aug. 29 in Audubon Park, located at 342 West Oates Road in Garland, not far from downtown Dallas. He had been reported missing two days prior.

According to a press release from the Garland Police Department, Navarro was identified as a person of interest in Pena’s death the same day the Amber Alert was issued.

“Navarro was subsequently located by law enforcement and is currently safe and in custody,” police said in the press release.

Sergeant Richard Maldonado, a lieutenant with the Garland Police Department told PEOPLE the arrest warrant for the murder and the Amber Alert were issued independent of each other.

Webb County Jail records show Navarro was arrested on Friday. Her bond is set at $1,000,000.

In addition to Navarro’s arrest, Garland police have also issued a murder warrant for Yordy Martinez, 21, who was originally listed as the suspect in Navarro’s disappearance. Martinez is still at large.

Details on how Navarro and Martinez became subjects of Pena’s murder investigation are still unclear.

“The reason why this happened, we’ve yet to totally determine that. We hope to get more when we talk to Natalie to see exactly what was going on if these persons knew each other, if they had a relationship, if there was a falling out,” Maldonado told NBCDFW.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Martinez or with information related to this incident is encouraged to call the Garland Police Department at 972-485-4840.

A mugshot for Navarro was not immediately available.

Yordy Martinez (Texas Department of Public Safety)

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