Rick Jervis

Devil Behind the Badge

“A thrilling ticktock on the borderland slayings and the effort to solve them.”—Texas Monthly The shocking investigative true-crime story of a U.S. Border Patrol agent turned serial killer, the four sex workers whom he mercilessly killed, and the upended border town of Laredo where his heinous crimes occurred. Twelve days is all it took. Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Anne Luera, Guiselda Hernandez, and Janelle Ortiz were four marginalized women striving to make ends meet as sex workers. They looked out for one another. But they would soon share a connection that none of them could have imagined. When Melissa was found dead, the other three women were on edge but assumed they were safe. Twelve days later, they too were dead and police had detained an unlikely suspect—Juan David Ortiz, a ten-year veteran of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where he carried a badge, a service revolver, and was entrusted to protect the community in which he eventually killed. From September 3 through September 15, 2018, this cold-blooded serial killer, a husband and doting father to three children, lured his victims into his white Dodge truck and drove them to the outskirts of town where he violently executed them, leaving them dead or dying on the sides of dark, rural roads. In this fast-paced, electrifying tick-tock, Pulitzer Prize–winning USA TODAY journalist Rick Jervis tells the gripping story of the four murders that shook the small border town of Laredo, and the quest to unmask a killer who was hiding in plain sight. Through meticulous investigative journalism, The Devil Behind the Badge is also a deeply human portrait of the four lives lost and an attempt to uncover what motivated Ortiz’s descent into darkness. Along the way, it raises serious questions about the border crisis, the abuse of law enforcement, and the challenges of a federal agency to police its own ranks. How does a man sworn to protect become a predator, and what happens when a federal agency fails to notice a killer hiding in plain sight? A Shocking True Crime Story: Follow the gripping, fast-paced investigation as Laredo law enforcement races against time to unmask a murderer in their own community. Hiding in Plain Sight: Uncover the double life of Juan David Ortiz, a decorated U.S. Border Patrol agent, husband, and father who used his badge as a shield for his heinous crimes. The Victims' Stories: Go beyond the headlines with a deeply human portrait of the four women—Melissa, Claudine, Guiselda, and Janelle—whose lives were tragically cut short. Abuse of Power: Confront the serious questions this case raises about the border crisis, the challenges of a federal agency policing its own ranks, and the vulnerability of marginalized communities.