A suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of a Gwinnett County man who police believe was killed in a fight over land in Mexico, officials announced Tuesday.
Mario Rene Lopez-Jolon, 38, faces a murder charge in the death of Guadalupe Garcia Rodriguez, 40. Officers discovered Rodriguez’s body inside his truck July 1, two days after he’d been reported missing. The truck had been abandoned in a neighborhood off Lawrenceville Highway, and Rodriguez had been shot twice, Gwinnett police said.
Authorities said they received new information last week that Rodriguez had been in a dispute over land with the father of his ex-girlfriend. Detectives conducted interviews with the woman at her home in Lawrenceville and were able to identify Lopez-Jolon as the suspect.
Details were not released about how they made that determination or how Lopez-Jolon was connected to Rodriguez.
Investigators also learned that Lopez-Jolon was in Huntsville, Alabama. They enlisted the help of the Huntsville Police Department, and Lopez-Jolon was arrested at a hotel. He is awaiting extradition to Georgia.
The day Rodriguez had been reported missing by his wife, she told officers she last saw him as he left in his truck. She later told Univision Atlanta that July 1 was their 10th wedding anniversary.
Rodriguez’s white Chevrolet Silverado was found parked halfway onto a curb just inside the entrance to the Paden Cove neighborhood.
In addition to malice murder and felony murder, Lopez-Jolon was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
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