4th suspect arrested in death of man found in burning car

A fourth suspect has been arrested in the death of John Hotchkiss, the man whose body was found in the trunk of a burning Mustang last year.

The torched vehicle was found in November in a field north of Clermont in what detectives say was a drug deal gone bad.

Now, Jose Luis Santiago de Jesus, 42, is the latest to face felony murder charges; he was arrested Tuesday in Orange County. He’s since been transported to the Lake County Jail.

Lake investigators previously arrested: Ivan Figueroa-Serrano, 34; Alex Nelson Arroyo, 45; and Natalio Lugo Villegas, 40, for their roles in the killing.

Authorities say Hotchkiss, 25, and his friend Ishmile Ramirez drove to an Orange County apartment off Curry Ford Road to buy cocaine.

Ramirez waited outside for 20 minutes while Hotchkiss went inside to make the deal.

When the transaction took longer than expected, Ramirez went inside the apartment and was ordered at gunpoint by Figueroa-Serrano to restrain his friend with duct tape.

Then Ramirez was pistolwhipped in the head, authorities say.

Outside of the apartment, a witness told detectives that Hotchkiss was forced into the trunk of the Mustang, and authorities suspect Santiago de Jesus helped.

Later, the suspects were seen on video surveillance at a 7-Eleven on U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont, about 20 minutes from where the car was burned.

Detectives also accessed Santiago De Jesus’ cell phone records, which show the phone was used near the Orange County apartment and along the route the Mustang took to the field in Clermont.

He’d also been in touch with other suspects in the killing.