The two suspects arrested in the shooting that killed Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez and wounded his fiancée had no known connection to either victim, court records say.
An interim complaint filed in court early in the investigation says prosecutors asked that Alex James Barnett, 33, be held without bond to protect the surviving victim and the public, citing "the random and dangerous nature of the crimes" and saying he had "no connection" to either victim.
Court records used similar wording about the other suspect arrested in the shooting, Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39. Both face first-degree murder charges and other charges, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has said.
Barnett was arrested Monday night by a Pima Regional SWAT team after a three-hour standoff at an east-side apartment complex near Broadway and Camino Seco, the department said.
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A judge ordered Barnett, who has an extensive criminal record, held without bond pending an Aug. 31 bond hearing. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1.
No information about a motive for the shooting has been released, although armed robbery is among the charges Barnett and Rogers face, the Sheriff's Department said.
Carlos Ramirez, 23, was shot and killed in his Tucson home Aug. 19.
An interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court says Ramirez was fighting with home invaders when he was shot, and gives the following account:
The incident began about 6 a.m. Aug. 19. Ramirez's fiancée, whose name has not been publicly released, told investigators she heard banging outside the bedroom door of the couple's home near West Valencia Road and South Camino Verde.
She told investigators Ramirez, 23, came into the bedroom, told her two masked men were inside the house and yelled for her to get a gun from their safe.
While Ramirez was fighting with the men, whom his fiancée described as wearing dark clothing and balaclava-style face coverings, gunshots rang out.
Ramirez, who was shot in the chest, was dead when deputies arrived. A former county corrections officer, Ramirez was days away from completing the academy to join the Tucson Police Department.
His fiancée, a 23-year-old Pima County corrections officer, was shot in the left shoulder.
The complaint also says footage shows the SUV linked to the shooting was parked near the couple's home hours before the incident occurred, between 3:50 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Surveillance footage also showed the alleged getaway car, a gray Acura MDX, leaving southbound after the shooting.
Alex James Barnett, 33, shown Tuesday at a court hearing, was held without bond after he was arrested Monday night in connection with the fatal shooting of a Tucson police recruit. He faces first-degree murder charges.
Investigators also found surveillance footage showing two men they suspected to be involved, later identified as Barnett and Rogers, at a nearby gas station about 40 minutes before the shooting.
The Acura linked to them was found on the city's southeast side last Thursday.
Rogers was arrested Saturday at a hotel on Tucson's south side, the Sheriff's Department said. He also has an extensive criminal record and, like Barnett, has been in prison.
Santiago Jorge Rogers, 39, shown here in surveillance footage, was arrested Saturday in connection with the fatal shooting of a Tucson police recruit.
A third man whom authorities suspected to be involved was located but not placed under arrest, the Sheriff's Department has said.
