A Puerto Rican police officer identified as the suspect in the gruesome slaying of an elderly couple that shocked the U.S. territory killed himself early Monday, authorities said.

José Miguel Centeno Sánchez worked at a police station in the northwest town of Aguadilla and had been hired by the couple as a handyman, Police Commissioner Antonio López said in a news conference.

PUERTO RICAN MAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DECADES OF DOGFIGHTING

López said Centeno died by suicide around dawn on Monday when officers arrived at his home to serve a search warrant.

"For us, Centeno Sánchez was never a real police officer, and does not represent any of our more than 11,000 police officers committed to protecting the life and property of our citizens," López said.

2 MEN IN PUERTO RICO PLEAD GUILTY TO HATE CRIME INVOLVING TRANSGENDER WOMAN

The couple slain earlier this month in the northwest coastal town of Isabela was identified as Idelfonso Janeiro Rodríguez, 83, and Angélica Adorno Cruzado, 77. Authorities said they were bound, gagged and shot in the head, adding that they suspected robbery as the motive.

At least 386 people have been reported killed so far this year in the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people, compared with 477 reported slain last year in the same time period.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is trying to decide whether customers kicked out of a casino should be allowed to collect winnings if they sneak back in and win money.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, gaming board members voted Oct. 4 to uphold paying a serial trespasser a $2,000-plus slot machine jackpot he had won earlier this year at the Casablanca hotel-casino in Mesquite, Nevada.

The newspaper said the casino disputed the payment, saying the gambler had been ordered off the property for various alleged offenses including petty theft, drunk or disorderly conduct plus violations of prior trespasses six times between 2011 and last year.

AS LEGAL SPORTS BETTING IN THE US GROWS, GAMBLERS CAN WIN — AND LOSE — MONEY QUICKER THAN EVER

US GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE TO HELP GAMBLING ADDICTS AS IT MAKES BILLIONS OFF SPORTS BETTING, EXPERT SAYS

But the Review-Journal said the man reentered the casino and won jackpots three times over a span of several months.

Some gaming officials said the problem has grown worse on the Las Vegas Strip as banned gamblers recognize that paying a small fine for being cited for trespassing is no deterrent to sneaking back into a casino and resume playing the slots.

Clark County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli told the Review-Journal that he reviewed records from July and determined there were 87 trespass cases before a Las Vegas judge who presides over a special resort corridor court.

NFL FORTIFYING EFFORTS OF GAMBLING POLICY TO PLAYERS, FOCUSING ON 6 'KEY RULES'

Lalli said the typical defendant will plead guilty and be ordered to stay out of the casino, usually for six months.

Authorities said trespassers often disregard judicial orders and re-enter casinos and when they win jackpots, they know regulators will want them to be paid based on policies approved decades ago.