2nd man sought in deadly Las Cruces drive-by shooting is arrested in California
UPDATE, Sept. 23: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Police have now arrested the second suspect wanted in a fatal drive-by shooting last month in Las Cruces.
Las Cruces police said Thursday that Jimmy Levi Rogers, 29, was located and arrested in California by federal marshals. He had been the subject of a manhunt in recent weeks, with authorities describing him as "armed and dangerous."
He's charged him with one count of open murder, two counts of conspiracy and one count of tampering with evidence in the killing of 40-year-old Ezekiel Diaz.
Those are the same charges that 28-year-old Hector Victor Calderon is also facing. He was arrested Sept. 4 in Las Cruces.
Investigators said Rogers and Diaz had an ongoing dispute and were in at least one confrontation prior to Diaz being shot in the chest on Aug. 16 on Lohman Avenue. Police found Diaz on the roadway, near the driver’s-side door of his SUV.
Detectives indicated Calderon was a passenger in Rogers’ car at the time of the shooting.
Rogers is being extradited back to Las Cruces, while Calderon remained held Thursday at the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
UPDATE, Sept. 14: A week after putting out a public call for help in finding the second of two men wanted in an Aug. 16 deadly drive-by shooting, Las Cruces police on Tuesday said they still hadn't locate the suspect.
Investigators once again asked the public to some forward with any information available on the whereabouts of 29-year-old Jimmy Levi Rogers.
A warrant for his arrest charges him with an open count of murder in the death of 40-year-old Ezekiel Diaz, who was gunned down on Lohman Avenue after a car pulled up alongside his SUV and the occupants opened fire.
Authorities said there were two men in that car, whom they've identified as Rogers and 28-year-old Hector Victor Calderon. Calderon was previously taken into custody by police.
Rogers was described by police as being 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighing approximately 150 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Rogers is considered by authorities to be armed and dangerous; they said anyone with information on his whereabouts should immediately call 911.
UPDATE, Sept. 7: Following the arrest of one man over the weekend in an Aug. 16 deadly drive-by shooting, Las Cruces police on Tuesday said they were now seeking a second man in the case.
Police were seeking the public's help in finding Jimmy Levi Rogers, 29, of Las Cruces. A warrant for his arrest charges him with an open count of murder in the death of 40-year-old Ezekiel Diaz.
Detectives said Rogers is believed to have been the driver of a car that pulled alongside Diaz’s SUV near the intersection of Lohman Avenue and Walnut Street.
Police indicated that Hector Victor Calderon, 28 - who is already in custody - was the passenger in Rogers’ car, from which the deadly gunshots were fired at Diaz.
Investigators said Diaz and Rogers had an ongoing dispute as well as prior confrontations, but they didn't elaborate on the nature of the dispute.
ORIGINAL REPORT, Sept. 5: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Las Cruces police on Sunday confirmed the arrest of a 28-year-old man on charges he shot and killed a motorist on Lohman Avenue last month.
Hector Victor Calderon, 28, was taken in custody Saturday in connection with the Aug. 16 drive-by shooting death of 40-year-old Ezekiel Diaz, said Det. Frank Torres of the LCPD.
The shooting happened on Lohman Avenue near Walnut Street as dozens of cars drove around the scene.
“My initial reaction was, ‘He got hit by a car!' When you see someone on the ground, you know they need help," said Jo Galván Nash, a motorist who came upon the scene shortly after the shooting.
Calderon faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder and felony conspiracy.
