By Matthew Holloway |
Federal officers arrested a man identified as a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Tucson Police Department recruit Carlos Ramirez as he attempted to enter the United States through the Douglas Port of Entry.
Alexis Monter, 30, approached the port’s pedestrian lane at approximately 7:53 p.m. on Sunday. During the inspection process, a CBP officer checked Monter’s information and received an active National Crime Information Center (NCIC) warrant, according to a CBP announcement.
The warrant identified Monter as a person of interest in the shooting of a Tucson police recruit and advised officers to consider him armed and dangerous. CBP officers detained Monter and contacted the Douglas Police Department, which took custody of him at approximately 8:42 p.m.
“The vigilance of our officers at the Douglas Port of Entry is critical to the safety of our communities,” Douglas Area Port Director Martin Gomez said. “By identifying and apprehending this individual, our officers have ensured that a dangerous subject is removed from the streets and held accountable for his alleged actions.”
CBP described the underlying investigation as the shooting of a Tucson police recruit without identifying Ramirez by name. KVOA connected Monter’s arrest to the Ramirez case, and KOLD reported that Monter was arrested in connection with the Aug. 19 shooting.
The CBP announcement did not specify Monter’s suspected role in the shooting, disclose the offense listed in the warrant, or identify any charges filed against him following his transfer to Douglas police.
Ramirez, 23, was found shot to death inside his home in the 7700 block of South Enchanted Spring Drive during the early morning hours of Aug. 19. His pregnant fiancée, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department corrections officer, was shot in the shoulder. She and her unborn child survived.
An interim complaint filed in the case states that Ramirez’s fiancée heard banging outside their bedroom before Ramirez told her to retrieve a gun from a safe because two masked men were inside the home. Ramirez fought with the masked men before shots were fired.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage showing a dark Acura SUV leaving the area. Additional footage showed Alex James Barnett and Santiago Jorge Rogers at a gas station near West Valencia Road shortly before the shooting.
Rogers, 39, was arrested on Aug. 22 at a hotel near South Palo Verde Road and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault. A judge ordered him held without bond. Barnett, 33, surrendered on Aug. 24 following a three-hour standoff at an apartment complex near Broadway Boulevard and Camino Seco. A judge set his bond at $2 million in the Ramirez case and ordered him held without bond for an alleged probation violation.
Ramirez had completed 23 weeks of training at the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center and was scheduled to graduate on Aug. 27 with Basic Recruit Class 26-1. His classmates honored him during the graduation ceremony, where his brother, an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper, accepted Ramirez’s badge and presented it to his fiancée.
The investigation into Ramirez’s killing remains ongoing.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
