Sheriff, deputies locate burning vehicle on Black Snake Road
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BROOKE STEWART/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
BROOKE STEWART/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office and a Georgia State Patrol aviation unit found the body of a missing Gwinnett County woman in a vehicle that had been set on fire off of Black Snake Road on Friday morning.
Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel and his deputies were searching in the Lake Oglethorpe area Thursday night through Friday morning for Lawrenceville’s Rubi Maldonado Nava, who was allegedly abducted by the father of her child, Jahir Sagahon, also of Lawrenceville, according to police reports.
Gabriel said law enforcement officials from Gwinnett County requested the aid of Oglethorpe County and other neighboring counties in their search in what Sgt. Samantha Mathe said, ”(was an) ongoing investigation.”
Oglethorpe County officers and others searched various areas, until evidence was found in the countryside on Black Snake Road, according to police reports.
A witness had seen an individual matching Sagahon’s description off of Old Edwards Road, Gabriel said.
“So we went over to that area and, you know, Black Snake seemed like the most logical location to start looking because it was kind of a little dirt road, not a lot of folks live on,” he said.
As they were searching, Gabriel said the odor was evident.
“(We) could actually smell, what smelled like a burning vehicle, a burning house. House fires and cars, fires (have) a very unique odor,” he said. “It's almost like a burnt plastic smell. It's kind of unusual.”
They eventually found a burnt, abandoned vehicle, and on closer inspection, the back of the vehicle contained Nava’s body, Gabriel said.
Gwinnett County officers had arrived at the suspect’s home by the time the car was found.
“When (Sagahon) actually got back to the house, Gwinnett County’s officers (were) actually in his driveway and took him into custody. He had burns on his arms,” Gabriel said.
Sagahon was charged with arson in the first degree and concealing a death in Oglethorpe County. He was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children (third degree), according to Gwinnett County jail records.