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VILLE PLATTE, LA (WACH) - The man suspected of murdering two women and leaving their bodies in a wooded area in Orangeburg has been arrested in Louisiana.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell announced Wednesday that double murder suspect Vicente Mendoza, 27, has been arrested.  

Mendoza allegedly killed Hope Bowers and Latonia Profit on March 18.

“Our agency was notified on Wednesday morning that Mendoza had been taken into custody near Ville Platte, Louisiana, by a team of Louisiana State Police, Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal Service. We have been in constant contact with the agencies in that area for the past two weeks providing information concerning Mendoza’s possible whereabouts. Mendoza is charged with two counts of murder in the March 18 fatal shooting of two Orangeburg women," Said Ravenell.

According to officials, Mendoza took one of the victim's SUV and drove to Louisiana where he was involved in a car accident, but was not taken into custody. 

The victims were 21 and 39 years old. There bodies were found behind an abandoned trailer in a wooded area off Collinswood Drive.

"I would like to thank the Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Sheriff Eddie Soileau and the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal Service, for capturing Orangeburg County's most wanted fugitive. To the families of his victims, we hope Mendoza's arrest provides some comfort in knowing that he will return to Orangeburg and face these charges,” said Ravenell. 

Mendoza’s extradition is in progress.