Benton County : Two arrested in killing
Posted on Friday, January 5, 2007
BENTONVILLE - Derrick Earl Jefferson was shot dead early Saturday by an acquaintance who was taking him home after a party in Springdale, Benton County sheriff's officials said Thursday.
Two Springdale men were arrested Thursday in the slaying of the Centerton teenager.
Erickson Dimas-Martinez, 21, was arrested on a charge of capital murder and Uris Gadamez Magana, 20, faces a charge of being an accomplice to capital murder, a sheriff's office news release stated.
"It was just like a puzzle, and it fit together eventually,"Capt. Mike Sydoriak said at a news conference Thursday. The case is still under investigation, and other arrests are possible, he said.
Jefferson, 17, was found dead Saturday morning in front of a house on 40 th Street just inside Benton County, Sydoriak said. He had been shot once in the head and was left with no identification and wearing only jogging pants and tennis shoes.
Investigators have not revealed the type of weapon used nor a motive, but said the shooting occurred in front of the house where Jefferson was found.
"We're still in the process of interviewing the suspects,"Sydoriak said. "We've heard one story, and now we have to hear the other side."
The investigation determined Magana is an illegal alien, Sydoriak said. Federal officials are still trying to determine if Dimas-Martinez is in the country legally.
Both men were being held in the Benton County jail Thursday. A bond hearing is scheduled this morning before Judge David Clinger.
Dimas-Martinez and Magana were among a group taking Jefferson home after a party at Magana's home on Tucson Loop in Springdale, Sydoriak said.
Dimas-Martinez and Magana were acquaintances of Jefferson, Sydoriak said, but he was not with them the entire night.
Family members last saw Jefferson when he left his home Friday with friends other than Dimas-Martinez and Magana, Sydoriak said.
"We think there is more to [the shooting ] than we're able to tell you right now,"Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson said.
Sheriff 's investigators received information early on that led them to Magana, Sydoriak said. Two witnesses came forward who said Dimas-Martinez was the shooter and Magana was involved, Sydoriak said.
Benton County deputies and Springdale police joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a search of Magana's house Sunday night, Springdale police Cpl. Chris Mc-Carville said Thursday.
Magana was arrested Sunday after he gave investigators fake identification, McCarville said. Those charges are unrelated to the Benton County case, Sydoriak said.
"[Immigration and Customs Enforcement ] was able to determine he was an illegal alien,"Sydoriak said.
Magana was moved from the Washington County jail to the Benton County jail on Thursday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a hold order on him, McCarville said.
Benton County sheriff's investigators and Springdale police arrested Dimas-Martinez while serving a search warrant Thursday morning at an apartment at 1408 Thrush St. in Springdale.
The weapon used in the shooting has not been located, Sydoriak said.
Dimas-Martinez was a suspect in an unrelated Nov. 23 criminal mischief case in Springdale but was never charged, McCarville said.
In that case, someone fired a gun into an unoccupied car on Gates Street in Springdale.
Ferguson said his investigators along with Springdale and Fayetteville police officers worked on the case around the clock. They were working with few leads until two witnesses who were in the car when the shooting occurred came forward.
Investigators cleared two men who were identified early on as possible suspects. The men, whom police didn't name, were seen driving by the house early Saturday before the body was discovered. They were interviewed and had nothing to do with the killing, Sydoriak said. "They were two unlucky black males who stopped and saw the body and then left,"Sydoriak said. Another motorist noticed the two men, wrote down their license plate number and called sheriff's investigators after Jefferson was found. "They cooperated fully and we were able to eliminate them as suspects,"Sydoriak said. The men did not call to report the body, he said. A service for Jefferson will be 4 p.m. Saturday at Backstrom-Pyeatte Funeral Home in Bentonville.
To contact this reporter: sfitzgerald@arkansasonline. com
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