Alex James Barnett, 33, the suspect sought in the fatal shooting of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, has been taken into custody after authorities said he was found hiding in an apartment complex nearly a week after the deadly home invasion attack.
Ramirez’s fiancée, who works as a Pima County corrections officer, was also injured in the shooting and remained hospitalized in stable condition.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said investigators received a tip around 6 p.m. Monday that Barnett was at a complex near East Broadway Boulevard and South Camino Seco. County SWAT officers moved in and arrested him after a three-hour standoff, with no additional injuries reported.
An undated Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry mugshot of Alex James Barnett, who was wanted in connection with the shooting death of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, 23. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry)
A second suspect, 39-year-old Santiago Jorge Rogers, was arrested Saturday morning at a hotel near Tucson International Airport.
Barnett and Rogers are both being held without bail at the Pima County jail.
An undated Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry mugshot of Santiago Rogers, who is being held without bail in connection with the shooting death of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez, 23. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry)
Court records show Barnett has a criminal history that includes previous burglary and weapons convictions, and he has also used the name Alex Wilson. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment.
A search of Pima County courts for prior cases came back empty for Rogers. However, a man of the same name and age has drug and shoplifting convictions in Yavapai County, possession of contraband behind bars in Navajo and Graham Counties, and a number of lesser charges in Prescott.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and Tucson Police Chief Monico Prieto deliver a news briefing after a double shooting killed a Tucson police recruit and sent a Pima County corrections officer to the hospital on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. The victims shared a child and multiple suspects were at large, authorities said. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
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Surveillance video shows men identified as Rogers and Barnett in black clothing and picking up items at a gas station convenience store about 20 minutes before the shooting.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously said the suspects were wearing all black clothing and ski masks during the attack.
A split image shows a still frame taken from surveillance video of an unidentified male suspect on the left and wanted 33-year-old Alex James Barnett on the right. The images were released in connection with a manhunt in Tucson, Arizona, following the shooting death of a local police recruit, 23, that also left his fiancee hospitalized with a gunshot wound. She is a Pima County corrections officer. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
A third man linked to the suspect vehicle has also been contacted by authorities in connection with the case but was not immediately charged.
“No arrest has been made as investigators work to determine his involvement,” the department said.
Alex James Barnett, 33, remains at large after a home invasion shooting left a Tucson police recruit dead last week. The 23-year-old’s fiancee, a Pima County correction officer, was also hospitalized. Barnett was reportedly last seen riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, license plate No. DA466. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
Ramirez was shot dead at his home in southwestern Tucson early Wednesday morning, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD).
He was expected to graduate from the police academy on Aug. 27 and had previously worked for PCSD as a corrections officer.
His 23-year-old fiancee, whose name has not been released, also works as a corrections officer in the department.
