Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 unrated
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Two of three suspects wanted in the killing of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez have been located, with one still at large.
- The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is leading the investigation and manhunt.
- One suspect remains on the run despite the arrest and location of the other two.
Where they differ
- FOX 10 Phoenix offers only a brief update with minimal detail on names or circumstances.
- AZFamily names both located suspects (Santiago Jorge Rogers and the second unnamed man), describes the hotel arrest, and details surveillance footage evidence.
- AZFamily includes background on Ramirez’s career and his fiancée’s job as a corrections officer, and reports on the injured 23-year-old woman found at the scene — details not covered by FOX 10.
Two of three men wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, 23, have now been located, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday. A third suspect, 33-year-old Alex James Barnett, remains at large with an active first-degree murder warrant.
Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, was arrested Saturday after deputies and FBI agents served a search warrant at a hotel near Palo Verde Road and Interstate 10. He was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex in connection with Ramirez’s death. Investigators believe surveillance footage from a gas station placed Rogers together with Barnett around the time of the killing.
A second man, whose identity authorities had asked the public to help locate, was also found Saturday evening. Unlike Rogers, he has not been arrested; the sheriff’s department said investigators are still working to determine his level of involvement. He was seen in surveillance video posted Friday exiting an SUV that investigators believe was used in the homicide.
What happened the morning Ramirez died?
Around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, someone called 911 from a home on Enchanted Spring Drive, south of Valencia Road. Deputies arrived and found a 23-year-old man dead inside and a 23-year-old woman suffering from a gunshot wound. The woman was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. The man was later identified as Ramirez.
Ramirez was a Tucson Police Department recruit and a former corrections officer with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Officials said his fiancée currently works as a corrections officer for the county, though details on her connection to the incident beyond that were not spelled out by authorities.
Who is still being sought?
Barnett is the only suspect not yet located. He faces an active warrant for first-degree murder. The sheriff’s department has released surveillance video showing a suspect exiting an SUV believed to be tied to the homicide near S. Palo Verde Road and E. 33rd Street around 10:50 a.m. on August 19, 2026, as part of the public appeal for information. Authorities are asking anyone with knowledge of Barnett’s whereabouts to call 911, or to call 88-CRIME to remain anonymous.
How do the two reports compare?
FOX 10 Phoenix’s report is brief, noting only that two of three suspects have been located and one remains on the run. AZFamily provides substantially more detail, laying out the timeline of Ramirez’s death, naming both located suspects, describing the hotel arrest of Rogers, and detailing the surveillance footage tying suspects to the vehicle used in the crime. AZFamily also includes background on Ramirez’s career history and his fiancée’s role as a county corrections officer, details absent from the FOX 10 clip.
Why this case is drawing attention
The killing of a police recruit — someone in training to serve the same community — has prompted an intensive, multi-agency response involving the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. The active manhunt for Barnett, combined with the still-unclear role of the second suspect found Saturday, means the investigation remains open even after two arrests-in-progress. Authorities have not yet detailed a motive or explained how the surviving woman, injured in the same incident, fits into the broader circumstances of the shooting.
Sources
Featured photo: Matthew Schallan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)