Detectives used surveillance evidence and license plate reader data before arresting Oscar Velasquez in Santa Ana, police said.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Witness interviews, surveillance footage and license plate reader technology helped Anaheim detectives track down a man now charged in the death of his girlfriend after she was found inside a motel room, according to police and court reporting.
Oscar Velasquez, 43, of Anaheim was arrested Aug. 19, one day after officers found 38-year-old Jasmine Miranda dead at the Kona Motel on North Brookhurst Street. Prosecutors later charged Velasquez with murder along with other felony counts, moving a case that began as a welfare check into the Orange County court system.
Anaheim police said officers responded to the motel at about 12:51 p.m. Aug. 18. Miranda was found inside a room with apparent traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not publicly provided a complete account of the events that led to her death or announced a motive.
Detectives began gathering information from witnesses and reviewing surveillance video as they worked to identify a suspect. Police said that evidence led them to Velasquez, who was described as Miranda’s boyfriend in news reports about the case.
The investigation then turned to locating him. Anaheim police said detectives worked with the department’s Real Time Crime Center and used license plate reader technology to identify a suspect vehicle. That information helped investigators find Velasquez in Santa Ana, where he was taken into custody without incident at about 7 p.m. Aug. 19.
The use of license plate reader data became a key part of the publicly disclosed investigative timeline. Police have not released the surveillance footage, witness statements or detailed license plate data they relied on, leaving much of the evidence behind the arrest outside the public record at this stage of the case.
Velasquez was initially booked on suspicion of murder. Prosecutors subsequently filed a murder charge along with felony counts involving possession of a firearm by a felon and vehicle theft with a prior conviction, according to court reporting. He also faces a sentencing enhancement alleging that a knife was used in the killing. Those allegations remain unproven.
Police have said Velasquez has prior convictions that include assault with a deadly weapon, narcotics violations and firearm possession. Court reporting also described an earlier case in which he received a prison sentence after convictions that included assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run with injury and vehicle theft. His prior record does not establish guilt in the current case.
Velasquez had originally been scheduled for arraignment Aug. 21, but court reporting said the hearing was postponed after he declined transportation to court that day. The proceeding was reset for Aug. 24 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton. A later verified public update on the outcome of that hearing was not available in the material reviewed for this report.
Miranda’s relatives, meanwhile, have been raising money for funeral and burial expenses and publicly remembering her as a devoted mother of three. The family’s mourning is unfolding alongside an investigation that Anaheim police continue to describe as active and ongoing.
Authorities have not announced a motive or released a full reconstruction of Miranda’s death. The criminal charges against Velasquez will require proof in court, while investigators continue gathering information about what happened before officers arrived at the motel.
Author note: Last updated August 31, 2026.