Illinois murder, kidnapping suspect nabbed in Gordon County
♦ Gordon County sheriff commends arresting officers.
A fugitive wanted on murder and kidnapping charges has been arrested in Gordon County.
According to Sheriff Mitch Ralston reports:
On Sunday morning, Nov. 6, Gordon County Sheriff’s Office deputies received information from authorities in Clinton County, Illinois that a fugitive wanted in connection with a kidnapping and suspected homicide had fled Illinois and was believed to be hiding in Gordon County.
Deputy Sheriffs immediately responded to a private residence on Moores Ferry
Road in the Plainville community. The deputies approached the residence and were initially given misleading information. However, sensing that something was amiss, they pursued their investigation and proceeded to search inside the home.
Deputies found the fugitive, subsequently identified as one Valentine Nau Navarro-Lopez, age
29, of Breese, Clinton County, Illinois, in a bed. He was arrested without incident. Navarro-Lopez was taken to the Gordon County Jail, charged with being a Fugitive From Justice. The Clinton County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office was notified of the arrest, and immediately dispatched their detectives to Gordon County.
The execution of a search warrant at a secondary location near Calhoun by Gordon County Sheriff’s detectives and Clinton County (Illinois) detectives yielded the acquisition of critical physical evidence. Clinton County (Illinois) Sheriff’s detectives arrived at the Gordon County Jail late Sunday evening and conducted an interview with Navarro-Lopez.
Shortly thereafter, the body of one Marcos Chavez, age 22, also of Breese, Illinois, was found in a lake in Clinton County. Navarro-Lopez was returned to Illinois where he faces charges of kidnapping and murder. Clinton County is located in southwestern Illinois, along the Kaskaskia River. The county seat is Carlyle.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Ralston presented the five deputy sheriffs involved in the apprehension of the fugitive with Meritorious Service Awards: J.R. Anderson, Joshua Morse, Matthew Flippen (second award), Erik Ochoa, and Sgt. Bobby Garcia (second award).