Posted: Saturday, December 14, 2013 3:41 pm

By Jacob Fischler | The Monitor

ALTON – Police believe they have in custody the person who shot and killed a 31-year-old man during a botched robbery a couple days before Thanksgiving.

Authorities arrested Ricardo Navaete “El Negro” Lozano, 26, about 2 a.m. Saturday as he attempted to cross the Pharr International Bridge back into the United States, said Alton Police Chief Enrique Sotelo.

“He actually had absconded to Mexico, but I guess he wanted to get smuggled back in,” Sotelo said.

The Alton chief added that he believed Pharr police made the arrest. Although he characterized Lozano’s reentry as being “smuggled back in,” he could not say who the alleged smugglers were or the nature of the smuggling. Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas did not immediately return a phone call seeking verification.

Alton investigators believe Lozano fired the shot Nov. 26 that killed Jose Luis Gonzalez as he sat in his pickup truck at a gas station on West Main Avenue in Alton. Sotelo declined to say what in the investigation pointed toward Lozano being the shooter.

Police have yet to recover the murder weapon, but believe the shooter used an AK-47 assault rifle.

Lozano became the sixth person arrested in connection to the killing. Investigators believe the six — and possibly more — sought to follow Gonzalez to a stash house where he was keeping immigrants in the country illegally.

“We think what their intentions were to rob a load of illegal aliens,” Sotelo said.

When Gonzalez realized he was being followed, he pulled into the parking lot of an Aziz gas station. The suspects then blocked Gonzalez from leaving. One man approached the driver side vehicle, pointed a rifle at him and fired a single shot.

Gonzalez then tried to drive south on Conway Avenue toward the Alton Police Department, but succumbed to his injuries before reaching it.

Sotelo said he expects Lozano to be arraigned for capital murder Sunday.

Police continue to search for a person of interest.

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