Three Men Arrested In Thanksgiving Day Homicide

El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies said they’ve arrested the masked men who shot a 51-year-old California trucker at a bar on Thanksgiving.

Investigators said two of the men are members of the reputed Barrio Azteca gang.

Fidencio Valdez, 31, Santiago De Leon Jr., 21, face capital murder charges. Louis Michael Capano, 26, faces a murder charge.

Sheriff’s Office investigators said Valdez and Capano belong to the Barrio Azteca gang. Valdez was already at the El Paso County jail facing a charge of murder in the killing of Julio Barrios on Dec. 10, 2010.

Capano was also in jail on charges of aggravated assault in connection to a bar fight at the Bayou Bar & Brill on Viscount Blvd. on Dec. 6.

According to a news release, De Leon was caught by Texas Rangers and U.S. Marshals in Hidalgo County Jan. 1. El Paso authorities want him back in El Paso and are working on his extradition.

Sheriff’s officials said. on November 25, two men wearing full black ski masks, black clothes and gloves stormed into Sal’s Lounge near Socorro, Texas, to rob the place. They were armed with a handgun and, according to investigators, ordered everyone to the ground. During the robbery, trucker Ralph Tucker grabbed a bar stool and charged at the masked men. The gunman opened fire, shooting Tucker twice in the neck, according to investigators. He died at the scene.

Sheriff’s Spokesman deputy Jesse Tovar said Tucker’s mother was notified of the arrests and was “pleased and thankful, praising sheriff’s detectives and all the law enforcement agencies who assisted in her son’s murder investigation.”

The El Paso Police Department, the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Marshal’s Service assisted in the case.

Tovar said more arrests are possible.