A "person of interest" linked to the killing of a Tucson police recruit is facing federal drug charges and is allegedly a member of a Mexico-based “large-scale criminal organization,” according to court records.
Alexis Monter, 30, was arrested at the Douglas Port of Entry on Aug. 30. Monter is believed to be the last registered owner of the Acura MDX linked to the fatal shooting of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez on Aug. 19, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has said.
As Monter tried to enter the United States, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer found Monter was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and there was an active warrant for his arrest, CBP said on Sept. 2.
Monter was wanted regarding a separate federal investigation out of Phoenix, federal court records show.
That investigation began in early July. After receiving information about a transnational drug trafficking organization operating between Mexico and the U.S., an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent contacted an unnamed drug source, a memorandum filed with the U.S. District Court says.
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The two arranged a sale of about 10,000 fentanyl pills for $4,000 in Phoenix, the memorandum says. The drug source told the agent a courier would contact them.
Just before 7 p.m. on July 8, the courier messaged the agent via WhatsApp to arrange the meeting, it continues.
About 40 minutes later, the agent met with two people in a white Mazda CX-5. After arguing about the terms of the deal, the man in the Mazda’s passenger seat gave the agent “a grocery sack containing blue pills” and the agent handed over the money, the memorandum says.
Through a records check, investigators linked the number used to contact the agent to Monter; the undercover agent identified him as the man in the passenger seat.
Investigators also found Monter had crossed into the U.S. through the Douglas port in a gray Acura MDX on the day before the arranged sale, the memorandum says.
‘I heard you guys are looking for me’
After Ramirez was found shot dead inside his home in a residential neighborhood near West Valencia Road and South Camino Verde on Aug. 19, the Sheriff’s Department issued an alert about an SUV they believed to be involved with the shooting.
Ramirez, a former Pima County corrections officer who was about a week away from completing academy to join the Tucson Police Department, was shot while fighting two masked intruders, an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court says.
His pregnant fiancée, a 23-year-old corrections officer who was shot in the shoulder during the incident, and the couple's child were inside the home at the time.
One of the HSI investigators noticed Monter’s Acura matched the description of the suspect vehicle. On the day after Ramirez was killed, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Monter, it continues.
The Acura was found on Tucson's southeast side that same day.
On Aug. 21, investigators went to Monter’s mother’s residence. She wasn’t there, but they were able to speak with her over the phone, the memorandum says.
The next day, a deputy U.S. marshal received a call from someone claiming to be Monter, it continues.
Monter
“I heard you guys are looking for me,” the caller reportedly told the deputy marshal.
When asked about his SUV, he said he had sold it, the memorandum says.
“I have been Googling my name and I’m not in trouble for that homicide,” Monter reportedly said, adding he would call back with an address where he would be available to meet.
Monter didn’t call back, the memorandum says. Eight days later, he was detained at the Douglas port.
He has since been federally indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of distribution, a federal court filing shows.
Two suspects were arrested in the days after the fatal shooting.
Santiago Rogers, 39, was taken into custody without incident at a hotel on Tucson's south side, the Sheriff's Department has said.
On Aug. 24, Alex Barnett, 34, who has an extensive criminal record, surrendered after a three-hour standoff following a five-day manhunt.
A third man whom authorities suspected to be involved was also located but not placed under arrest, the department has said.
Details on the fatal shooting are still sparse. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has publicly said he believes it was an attempted drug rip that mistakenly targeted the wrong house.
“These guys were trying to rip somebody off they had a dope deal with, and they hit the wrong house,” Nanos told the Star last month. “There’s no evidence to suggest otherwise.”
Court records say neither Barnett nor Rogers had any connection to Ramirez or his fiancée.
