A man wanted in the killing of police officer Jose Chavez during a traffic stop in New Mexico has been caught and is awaiting charges, authorities said Saturday.
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Thirty-three-year-old Hatch Officer Jose Chavez, who had been shot in the neck, died at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, authorities say.
Chavez was a two-year veteran of the Hatch Police Department and a graduate of the Doña Ana County Sheriff Department’s Cadet Program.
Officials say 38-year-old Jesse D. Hanes, whose last known address was in Columbus, Ohio, now faces one count of willful and deliberate first-degree murder in Ohio for the death of a 62-year-old-man found shot in his home in July.
A man accused of aggravated murder in OH has been arrested in southern New Mexico for allegedly shooting and killing a local police officer during a traffic stop, officials said on Saturday.
In the early hours Saturday, Ross County Sheriff’s Office officials confirmed to the Gazette that James D. Nelson II and Jesse D. Hanes were in custody in New Mexico on warrants out of Ross County. Their names haven’t been released. She said Hanes had a gun shot wound in his thigh that appeared to be self-inflicted.
This story has been corrected to show the age of suspect Jesse Hanes is 38, not 36.
Chavez died as a result of his injuries.
Chavez, 33, was killed after he pulled over a vehicle in Hatch on Friday, according to the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.
The other Hatch officer returned fire at the gunman’s auto, a silver Lexus, which fled the scene.
James Nelson and Jesse Hanes were both wanted in OH in the July 25 shooting death of a 62-year-old man at his home just outside Chillicothe, about 60 miles south of Columbus.
Hanes remains hospitalized after shooting himself in the leg.
A third person in the auto was a hitchhiker who is considered a witness.
Police say two others were in the auto when Hanes shot Chavez before fleeing, carjacking a man at a rest stop, shooting him.
Meanwhile, a passerby alerted law enforcement to two other men who were acting suspicious in the area.
The Lexus was spotted by witnesses a short time later at a rest stop, where Hanes is accused of demanding vehicle keys from a driver before shooting him in the torso.
Two other suspects were arrested nearby after running off, KRQE reported. The condition of the driver is now unknown. Police say Nelson was a passenger in the auto.
About 25 minutes after the initial traffic stop, the suspects exited at a rest stop, where one carjacked a red Chevrolet Cruze, authorities said.
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The Chillicothe Gazette in OH reported Saturday that Nelson was also taken into custody in New Mexico on warrants in the July 25 shooting death of an OH man.
