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| | | David A. Perez-Luna, 31, of Riverdale (click for larger version) | |
July 25, 2008
ROSWELL -- Roswell police arrested three Panamanians in connection with the Jan. 26 slaying of a popular shopkeeper at her business on Ga. 9.
The last man arrested, Joel A. Boyce Douglas, 25, of Jonesboro was taken in by an Atlanta police SWAT team July 27 after an unarmed, 90-minute standoff at a house on Shell Drive in Atlanta. He is in Fulton County jail without bond.
The other suspects, David A. Perez-Luna, 31, of Riverdale and Samual A. Boyce, 30, of Douglasville are also in jail without bond. All three are charged with murder, armed robbery, false imprisonment and aggravated assault in the death of Lydia Alvarado, 39, said Lt. James McGee, spokesman for the Roswell Police Department.
Alvarado was shot in the chest during a robbery at her business, the Azteca Grocery and Taqueria on Ga. 9 in Roswell. She later died at North Fulton Regional Hospital.
The Azteca Grocery and Tacqueria, a popular spot for Latinos in Roswell's large Hispanic population owned by Alvarado's family, has been closed since the crime. Another business has since opened the building.
Police said Perez Luna he was arrested July 23 at an immigration office in DeKalb County. Boyce is in the Clayton County jail on unrelated charges.
Requests for information about Boyce's arrest to the Clayton County Sheriff's Department were not returned by press time.
All three men are originally from Panama and became friends in that country, said Roswell police. McGee said investigators aren't sure exactly how Boyce and Douglas are related, but they do share a name.
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| | | | Joel A. Boyce Douglas, 25, of Jonesboro (click for larger version) | | |
He said Boyce had been in jail for about a month before Perez-Luna's and Douglas' arrests. McGee was tight-lipped about any information pertaining to how the three were caught and how they might be related to the case.
"Once we learned Boyce was in Clayton, we started developing info on him," he said. "We had a good idea of who they were, and we knew we were close. This was a lot of footwork.
"Things just fell into place. Our guys did a good job."
McGee would say that the men in custody had been arrested before, but he would not say for what. He also said police had DNA evidence and a wealth of good information from tipsters.
But, he would not say if the DNA evidence linked both men to the crime or if tips given to police would lead to the Alvarado family's $50,000 reward for arrest of conviction of suspects linked to the crime.
McGee also refused to speculate on the theory that Alvarado had been targeted in the crime. She was the only person shot during the robbery, thought others were bound or beaten.
"Right now, the premise we're working under is that this is a robbery gone bad," he said. "It was well known they kept a large amount of money on hand there. But we aren't sure how [the three suspects] got the info to go up there. The case certainly isn't closed," he said.
- www.northfulton.com
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