Arrest In Mexican TV Murder?
Mexico City police have detained a man suspected of carrying out the gangland-style slaying of a popular TV star, the Mexico City attorney general's office said Thursday.
Spokesman Jorge Hernandez confirmed a report in the daily newspaper Reforma that Erasmo Perez was being held in the case, but declined to elaborate pending a formal arraignment.
Reforma reported Thursday that Mexican police arrested Perez on Wednesday after informants identified him as the alleged gunman who shot TV star Francisco "Paco" Stanley in a June 7 shootout that stunned Mexico.
Perez is allegedly a member of the world's largest methamphetamine ring and is suspected of carrying out orders to kill Stanley over alleged drug debts he refused to pay, Reforma reported, citing police sources.
Stanley was gunned down next to a restaurant along a busy Mexico City highway. His assailants fired at least 26 bullets into his black Lincoln minivan, hitting Stanley seven times.
Officials later revealed that Stanley was carrying cocaine and an illegally issued gun permit that falsely identified him as an employee of the federal Interior Secretariat.
Police also detained Stanley's chauffeur, Jorge Escandon Garcia, and television hostess Paola Durante Ochoa, the attorney general's office said. They are being held under house arrest at a Mexico City hotel.
Also still under house arrest in the case is Mario Rodriguez Bezares, Stanley's former television sidekick, who authorities have said is being investigated for possibly planning, participating in or ordering the attack.
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