El Paso Police positively ID man whose burned body was found in Downtown building

The El Paso Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified the man whose burned body was found in a Downtown El Paso building on Sept. 5.

His name is Gerald Luna, 21, of El Paso.

Luna was identified through dental records. His body was found by an El Paso Electric crew in the basement of a building in the 100 block of North Mesa.

El Paso Police affidavits reveal more details about Luna’s death.

Affidavits shows the man was killed sometime in early-to-mid-August.

Five homeless people were arrested in connection with the burned body.

They are:

34-year old Jesus Barraza, El Paso, charged with murder.
22-year old Jerry Lynn McGavitt, El Paso, charged with murder.
19-year old Thomas McNair, El Paso, charged with murder.
28-year old Marcus Adkins, El Paso, charged with failure to report felony offense.
18-year old Brittney Stewart, El Paso, charged with murder

The affidavits state the victim was subdued and endured “strangulation, blunt force trauma, bound-gagged and consumed by fire.”

Crimes scene personnel found a palm print on a mirror column/pillar next to the area where the body was found.

Police discovered the latent print belonged to Adkins. Latent prints of McNair and Barraza also were found at the scene, according to police affidavits.

After identifying who the palm print belonged to, police learned that Adkins had been arrested hours prior to the discovery of the body and within several blocks of where the body was found.

Police took Adkins from the El Paso County Jail to police headquarters where police say Adkins initially denied any involvement or knowledge of the incident.

He then later recanted his initial statement and agreed to provide a statement where he alleged that the then-unknown man who was killed goes by the name “Mexican Jerry.”

Adkins said Mexican Jerry was killed by another person but was not present when it took place, according to the police affidavit for Adkins.

Adkins and others were allegedly taken to the scene after the fact and he was present when Mexican Jerry’s body was intentionally set on fire.

Adkins told police that he stayed at the scene for a while but then he and the others left because they thought the entire building might burn down.

McNair and Barraza each provided police with separate “voluntary statement of the accused” where they outlined specific details of the homicide and the roles of each of the co-defendants and themselves.