Arizona police investigating the killing of a prominent rancher near the Mexican border have identified a man wanted for questioning in a series of burglaries in the area.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office calls Alejandro Chavez-Vasquez, thought to be in his late 30s, a person of interest in the burglaries. Police have not publicly connected Chavez-Vasquez to the March 27 killing of rancher Bob Krentz, but they also haven't ruled out that he might know something about that case.
"It would depend on what he would be able to tell us about other burglaries and other open cases we have," sheriff's office spokeswoman Carol Capas told The Arizona Star, adding that there are no suspects or persons of interest in the Krentz case.
Krentz, 58, and his dog were gunned down shortly after he reported spotting someone who appeared to be in trouble. Foot tracks were followed from the shooting scene about 20 miles south, to the Mexico border, and authorities suspect an illegal immigrant.
The killing of the third-generation rancher has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate as politicians cite the episode as further proof that the U.S. must do more to secure the violent U.S.-Mexico border.
The governors of New Mexico and Arizona took a public tour of the border this week in support of more security. The subject has ignited endless discussion on blogs, and has been politicized in the U.S. Senate Republican brawl between J.D. Hayworth and incumbent John McCain.
Investigators have not definitively tied the killing to the drug trade, but the slaying comes at a time when well-armed cartel factions have battled each other and federal authorities in several Mexican border cities, resulting in thousands of brutal killings.
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