One arrest made, two suspects still sought in killing of Tucson police recruit

Coverage spread: 4 sources — 4 unrated

Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.

Where they agree

Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, was arrested Saturday, Aug. 22, at a Tucson hotel in connection with the murder of police recruit Carlos Ramirez.
Alex James Barnett, 33, remains at large with an active first-degree murder warrant and is considered armed and dangerous.
Ramirez, 23, was shot and killed inside his home on Aug. 19, and his fiancée, a Pima County corrections officer, was wounded but is expected to survive.
Three masked suspects dressed in black are believed involved, and a third suspect remains unidentified despite released surveillance video.

Where they differ

ABC15 and FOX 10 dig deepest into Barnett’s and Rogers’ criminal histories, while 12 News and AZFamily keep focus mainly on the arrest and manhunt logistics.
FOX 10 devotes a full report to explaining why a Blue Alert was issued, including expert commentary from DPS spokesman Bart Graves and trainer Josh Logan, a topic other outlets don’t explore.
AZFamily provides the most detail on the original 911 call and crime scene, including the exact address and Sheriff Chris Nanos’s comments on the victim’s condition.
Sources give slightly different locations for Rogers’ arrest hotel (near Palo Verde and Irvington vs. near Palo Verde and Interstate 10), reflecting minor inconsistencies in reporting.

A man has been arrested in the killing of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, but two other suspects remain at large as of Saturday, Aug. 22. Pima County deputies, with help from the FBI, arrested 39-year-old Santiago Jorge Rogers at a Tucson hotel early Saturday, while a Blue Alert issued statewide for 33-year-old Alex James Barnett had not yet led to his capture.

What happened to Carlos Ramirez?

Ramirez, a 23-year-old Tucson Police Department recruit and former Pima County Sheriff’s Department corrections officer, was shot and killed inside his home on Enchanted Spring Drive, south of Valencia Road, early on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 19. A 911 call came in around 6 a.m.; deputies arrived to find Ramirez dead and his 23-year-old fiancée, who currently works as a Pima County corrections officer, wounded by gunfire. She was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive; Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said she was in stable condition.

Who has been arrested, and how?

Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, was taken into custody without incident early Saturday, Aug. 22, when the regional SWAT team and the sheriff’s Fugitive Investigations Unit, aided by the FBI, served a first-degree murder arrest warrant at a hotel near Palo Verde Road and Irvington Road (also described as near Interstate 10). Rogers was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex. Reporting from ABC15 notes Rogers was released from prison in 2023 and had been previously detained on weapons misconduct, dangerous drug, and shoplifting charges, along with 14 in-prison charges including attempting to promote contraband and tampering with security devices.

Who is still being sought?

Alex James Barnett, 33, remains at large with an active first-degree murder warrant. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and black leather vest, riding a maroon 2020 Harley-Davidson FLHXS motorcycle with Arizona plate DA466. Authorities describe him as bald with distinctive arm tattoos and say he has a lengthy criminal record spanning about 16 years, including car theft, burglary, identity theft, forgery, drug and weapons charges, aggravated assault, child abuse for exposing his 18-month-old son to drugs and guns, and an attempt to strangle his ex-wife. Most of his prior sentences ran between six months and two and a half years. Officials consider him armed and dangerous and warn the public not to approach him. A third suspect remains unidentified; surveillance footage shows this person exiting a gray SUV believed connected to the crime near South Palo Verde Road and East 33rd Street around 10:50 a.m. on Aug. 19. That suspect is described as having gray hair, a goggle band on his glasses, a watch or bracelet on his left wrist, light-colored jeans, and red-and-white or orange-and-white Nike shoes.

Why was a Blue Alert issued?

Arizona’s Department of Public Safety issued the Blue Alert for Barnett on the night of Aug. 20 at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s request. DPS spokesman Bart Graves said Blue Alerts are rare and reserved for cases where a law enforcement officer has been attacked or killed and the suspect poses an ongoing threat to the public. Josh Logan, a former police officer and co-founder of Guardian Training & Consulting, said the alert signals a dangerous individual willing to harm both civilians and officers, and that fugitives tend to grow more desperate the longer they evade capture.

How are the outlets covering the investigation differently?

All outlets confirm the same core arrest and manhunt details, but differ in what supplementary material they emphasize — some focus on Rogers’ prior criminal record, others on Barnett’s, and coverage varies on how much detail is given about the still-unidentified third suspect and the surveillance footage tracing the group’s movements around Tucson.

What comes next?

Investigators are continuing to search for Barnett and the unidentified third suspect, using surveillance footage from locations including a Shell station on Valencia Road and a convenience store near Casino Del Sol, where the three suspects were seen together dressed in black and wearing masks. Authorities are asking anyone with information on the suspects’ whereabouts to call 911, or 88-CRIME for anonymous tips.

Sources

Featured photo: Matthew Schallan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)