Authorities brought a 37-hour manhunt to an end Friday night, tracking down a suspect wanted in connection with a fatal double shooting in Forsyth County.
Juan Escalante-Alarcon, a 34-year-old Norcross man, was arrested in Roswell shortly before 6 p.m., the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release Friday night.
Escalante-Alarcon was considered “armed and dangerous” and remained on the run a day after police identified him as the prime suspect in the slayings of two men found shot to death in a Tidwell Circle home early Thursday.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Forsyth’s SWAT team and homicide detectives took him into custody with assistance from Roswell police and the North Fulton SWAT team.
“I’m happy to announce that FCSO has arrested Juan Escalante-Alarcon, the suspect in yesterday’s heinous double homicide,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said in the release. “He is no longer a threat to our community.”
Ivan Cordero, 35, and his 21-year-old cousin, Geovani Cruz, were dead when officers responded to multiple 911 calls from inside the home around 5 a.m. Thursday, prior reports from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicate. A 17-year-old was shot in the foot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said.
Escalante-Alarcon was the suspect in a Feb. 11 home invasion at the same residence and wanted on multiple serious charges, including aggravated assault and cruelty to children, prior to Thursday’s shooting. Federal marshals were searching for him and Forsyth deputies had increased patrols around the home, the AJC reported.
The search intensified following the double homicide. The sheriff’s office publicly called for the public’s assistance in tracking Escalante-Alarcon. Deputies used drones and police K-9s to search for him.
“My gratitude to our partner agencies and awe of the incredible and non-stop work by our entire FCSO team,” Freeman said in his statement. “No way this guy was getting away from us.”
The motive for the killings remains unclear. Investigators still haven’t shed light on what may have prompted the deadly gun violence.
“The investigation is still fluid and ongoing and I am limiting our comments until the investigation is complete,” Freeman said. “Then I assure you I will have more to say about this suspect and his actions.”
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