The charges of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery against a woman who was detained in relation to Garden City businessman Ernie Ortiz’s death have been dropped.
In response to a message from KSN News on Tuesday afternoon, the county attorney stated that Smith had entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of conspiracy to commit robbery on November 7.
According to a statement from the county attorney, Susan Richmeier, “the death of Mr. Ortiz was devastating to the family, friends, and community surrounding Ernie Ortiz.”
“All facts and circumstances known by law enforcement and the Finney County Attorney’s Office at the time of plea were taken into consideration when the complaint was amended to a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit robbery,” she stated.
Ortiz, 69, was discovered mortally injured outside El Conquistador, the restaurant he had owned for 39 years, in September 2019. As he shut down the store for the evening, police suspect he was shot during a robbery. At the hospital, he passed away.
Shortly after the murder, a guy was taken into custody, but he was later freed when the charges against him were dropped.
The first family to collaborate with Garden City’s Crime Stoppers to provide a reward to a particular case was Ortiz’s family. To generate money for the reward, the family created a GoFundMe page via the Justice for Ernie Ortiz Facebook page.
The murder of Ortiz was then chosen for the Kansas Cold Case Playing Cards in 2022. In Kansas jails and prisons, decks of cards with unsolved killings were being handed out in the hopes that prisoners would give information related to the crimes.
The Ortiz case’s reward for information increased to $21,500 in January 2023.
Smith was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in South Carolina in September 2023. She was returned to Kansas, where, until this week, she was facing charges of aggravated robbery and murder.
A lower allegation of conspiracy to commit robbery was added to Smith’s complaint on November 7. Her sentencing is set on December 4 by the court.
Regarding the charge modification, KSN got in touch with the Garden City Police Department. The Ortiz murder case is still open and ongoing, according to a spokeswoman.
“Ernie Ortiz was a well-known and adored Garden City resident, and his passing had an impact on the community as well as his family and loved ones,” police stated. “The Garden City Police Department has been working nonstop for more than five years to find answers, help give Mr. Ortiz’s family some closure, and bring those responsible for his death to justice.”
We also got in touch with the Ortiz family via Justice for Ernie Ortiz, their Facebook group. The family stated that it would want to hold off on commenting until the sentencing.
