Two Texas men have been charged with murder in connection with the death of a metro Atlanta man who disappeared after a Craigslist meeting, the FBI said Thursday.
Vicente Cruz, 44, of Austell, was reported missing May 1 after a meeting in northwest Atlanta about his 1989 black Ford F-150, Atlanta police said at the time. His body was found May 22, FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said. The formal cause of death has not been released.
On Tuesday, police in San Antonio arrested Gilbert George Moran, 39, in connection with Cruz’s death, according to the FBI.
That came days after authorities arrested David Lee Rios, 34, of San Antonio, on Aug. 29, Emmett said.
Rios and Moran are in custody in Texas while they await extradition to Georgia, Emmett said.
A friend went with Cruz to the meeting, police spokeswoman Lisa Bender said at the time. But Cruz told the friend to leave because it would take awhile for the potential buyer to check the truck. Cruz told the friend he would call her, but he never did.
The truck was found abandoned in a motel parking lot, Channel 2 Action News reported. Blood was found in the truck, but police would not comment further at the time.
Cruz’s body was found behind a vacant home in the 700 block of North Evelyn Place in northwest Atlanta, police said.
A man walking his dog “smelled a strong odor coming from the back yard” and called police, according to an incident report. When officers arrived, they found the body wrapped in plastic.
The FBI charged Rios and Moran with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution when it was learned they had gone to Texas, Emmett said.
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