Arizona authorities have arrested one suspect in a deadly home invasion that killed a Tucson police recruit and left his fiancée hospitalized.
Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, was taken into custody at a hotel on South Palo Verda Road in Tucson on Saturday morning, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos announced. He is being held without bond at the county jail. The second suspect, Alex James Barnett, 33, remains at large and is the subject of an active manhunt.
Carlos Ramirez, 23, was shot dead at his home in southwestern Tucson around 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. He was one week away from graduating the police academy on Aug. 27 and had previously worked for the department as a corrections officer. His 23-year-old fiancée, whose name has not been released, also works as a corrections officer in the department and was injured in the attack.
Sheriff Nanos previously said the suspects were wearing all black clothing and ski masks at the time of the shooting. Surveillance video shows men identified as Rogers and Barnett in black clothing picking up items at a gas station convenience store about 20 minutes before the shooting, authorities said.
Hours later, surveillance video taken from a parking lot shows a third man parking the suspect vehicle, a gray Acura MDX SUV, and walking away. He has not been publicly identified, but the sheriff’s department said Sunday he had been contacted by detectives.
“No arrest has been made as investigators work to determine his involvement,” the department said in a statement.
Barnett has a rap sheet that includes prior burglary and weapons convictions and has also been known as Alex Wilson, according to court records. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to an unlawful imprisonment charge. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and black leather vest and riding a Harley-Davidson FLHXS motorcycle with the Arizona license plate DA466, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
A search of Pima County courts for prior cases came back empty for Rogers. However, a man of the same name and age has drug and shoplifting convictions in Yavapai County, possession of contraband behind bars in Navajo and Graham Counties, and a number of lesser charges in Prescott.
In the viral moment that preceded this arrest, Ramirez was preparing to begin his career in law enforcement after completing the police academy. His death one week before graduation has drawn mourning from colleagues and community members who noted his dedication to public service. The corrections officer turned recruit had already established himself within the Pima County Sheriff’s Department before pursuing his goal of becoming a sworn officer. His fiancée, who shares his profession, survived the attack and remains hospitalized.
Anyone with information on the case or Barnett’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or 520-88-CRIME.