2nd victim in illegal immigrant ambush ID'd

Veronica M. Cruz, Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 10:38 am

Deputies have identified the second man killed in an ambush on a truck carrying illegal immigrants last week near Eloy.

Juan Baltazar Lopez, 40, from Guatemala was found dead in the bed of the truck which was shot at by an unknown number of gunmen dressed in camouglage, sad Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman in a news release.

The truck was ambushed just after 10:30 p.m. April 8 on Eagle Ranch at the southern end of South Night Sky Street, an area known for human smuggling, the release said.

The other victim, Gerardo Perez-Ruiz, 39, from Toluca, Mexico was shot in the truck but had been moved into the desert by relatives who tried to help him.

Between 20 to 30 illegal border crossers were in the truck and several were found in the desert nearby.

Deputies are continuing to the investigate.

2nd victim in illegal immigrant ambush ID'd