A man arrested in connection with an armed robbery in Guadalajara has been identified as the prime suspect in the November 29 murder of Ajijic resident Stephen Christopher Kahr.
The person in question was booked by Guadalajara police on Tuesday, December 13 under the name Arturo Arceo Garcia Espiritu, 21, with an Ajijic home address. According to Guadalajara press reports, he was one of three men captured following a robbery perpetrated at a beauty salon on Tuesday afternoon.
The Reporter spoke with Kahr’s widow Patricia on Thursday afternoon after she and her son returned from a trip to Guadalajara, where authorities allowed them to have a first-hand look at the suspect. She said that both she and her son David recognized Garcia Espiritu as the man who shot and killed Kahr during an attempted robbery and struggle in the carport of their Ajijic home.
She indicated that they made a preliminary 90-percent positive identification from a photograph shown to them by officials at the Chapala Ministerio Publico (prosecutor’s office). Expressing her gratitude to detective Alejandro Contreras for facilitating a face-to-face encounter, she said, “We were glad to be able to see him in person to be certain. We wouldn’t want to accuse an innocent person.”
Authorities told Kahr’s survivors that Garcia Espiritu had been living in the United States up until about four months ago when he returned to his home town.
The suspect was detained along with Sergio Rubio Mora, 32, and Alejandro Romo Padilla, 23, following a high-speed chase and exchange of gunfire with police in the immediate aftermath of an assault on clients of a beauty parlor located in the Jardines de la Paz neighborhood. They were nabbed after crashing into the back of a taxi and a parked car. All three were found to be carrying firearms.
Guadalajara police told reporters the men appear to be members of an experienced criminal gang, noting that Garcia Espiritu had filed down finger tips, a technique used to avoid fingerprint identification.
Lakeside residents who have been victims of recent home invasion robberies and other personal assaults are advised to visit the Chapala Ministerio Publico office to request a look at the pictures of the suspects for possible identification. The office is located at Calle Juarez 573, between Degollado and Lopez Cotilla, hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., telephone 765-2415.
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