Rucks Russell's 11 News report

Even before their deaths prompted a series of heated debates about the use of deadly force, detectives at the Department of Public Safety had their eye on Diego Ortiz and Miguel Dejesus.

The two were shot and killed by Joe Horn, a Pasadena man who thought they were burglarizing his neighbor’s home last month.

According to a DPS memo obtained by 11 News, the department was investigating the use of Puerto Rican birth certificates by Colombians seeking to obtain Texas driver’s licenses.

Both Ortiz and Dejesus had applied for licenses.  Dejesus listed his country of origin as Puerto Rico, but both men were Colombian.

Apparently, the DPS is investigating hundreds of immigrants who may have used illegal papers to get Texas licenses.

But that’s not all.

A much wider probe has been launched into an organized syndicate of Colombians who are engaged in illegal weapons sales and home break-ins – just like the one Ortiz and Dejesus were involved in last month in Pasadena.

That day, Joe Horn and a shotgun stood in the way of the suspected thieves, but in many instances the suspects have gotten away.

The ATF, ICE and DPS have reportedly formed a task force to bring the crime wave to an end. 

The burglars are said to be very effective at what they do, conducting extensive surveillance on their targets before striking.  Some of the suspects are extremely violent.

The investigations have already led to several arrests.