Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 25

Alex Barnett Arrested After 5-Day Manhunt in Killing of 23-Year-Old Tucson Police Recruit

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 25

Alex Barnett Arrested After 5-Day Manhunt in Killing of 23-Year-Old Tucson Police Recruit

Q: Were the young police recruit and his fiancée randomly attacked, or deliberately targeted by masked gunmen because of their badges?

It is not yet known whether Carlos Ramirez and his fiancée were specifically targeted because they worked in law enforcement. What investigators have said publicly points more toward a home-invasion robbery than a confirmed anti-police attack. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he believed the motive was robbery, while also saying investigators had not determined whether the shooting was targeted. Court records and witness accounts say two masked men entered the home, and Ramirez fought them while telling his fiancée to open the gun safe. Surveillance also placed the suspects’ vehicle in the neighborhood hours before the shooting, which could suggest planning, but does not by itself show why the home was chosen. There are reasons the targeted-attack question remains open. Ramirez was a Tucson police recruit and former corrections officer, and his fiancée was a current Pima County corrections officer. The victims’ family has said they do not believe the attack was random. But authorities have not publicly established any connection between the suspects and either victim, and court documents cited in local reporting said no such link had been confirmed. So, based on the evidence released so far, the strongest factual answer is that investigators have not proved the couple were targeted because of their badges. The leading public theory from law enforcement has been robbery, but the exact motive remains unresolved.

Q: What role does the mysterious third man play in the chilling surveillance footage captured just minutes before the fatal strike?

The third man appears in a separate surveillance clip not at the gas station, but hours after the shooting, when he is seen parking or abandoning the gray Acura MDX believed to have been used in the crime and then walking away. Authorities have said the key footage involving Barnett and Rogers was recorded about 20 minutes before the home invasion at a Shell station on West Valencia Road, where both men were dressed in black. The third man’s role comes later in the timeline: video from near Palo Verde Road and 33rd Street shows him exiting the suspect vehicle in a parking lot roughly 30 minutes from the crime scene. Investigators have contacted him, but they have not publicly identified him and have not filed charges. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has said detectives are still trying to determine exactly how involved he was. Public statements indicate he is linked to the vehicle, not yet conclusively to the shooting itself. Police have also released descriptive details from that later footage, saying the man appeared to have gray hair, glasses with a goggle band, a watch or bracelet on his left wrist, light-wash or gray jeans, and red/orange-and-white Nike high-top shoes. Based on what authorities have disclosed, his known role in the video is that of the person seen ditching the suspected getaway SUV after the attack.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 25

Alex James Barnett, 33, was arrested Monday evening at a Tucson apartment complex after a tip led SWAT officers to his hideout and a three-hour standoff ended without further injuries.
Authorities say Barnett was the remaining suspect in last Wednesday's home invasion shooting that killed Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, 23, and wounded Ramirez's fiancee, a Pima County corrections officer, who remains in stable condition.
Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, was arrested separately at a hotel near Tucson International Airport on Saturday, and both men are being held without bail at the Pima County jail.
Surveillance video placed Barnett and Rogers at a gas station about 20 minutes before the attack, while investigators have also contacted a third man tied to the suspect vehicle but have not charged him.
Ramirez was due to graduate from the police academy on Aug. 27 and had previously worked as a corrections officer, making Barnett's arrest the key break in a case that triggered a nearly weeklong manhunt.