Overview

• Deputies found 29-year-old Noel Gutierrez-Cano shot to death in a pickup after a three-vehicle crash near Judge Orr Road on Aug. 26, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
• Detectives tied 26-year-old Jose Cruz Diaz Vazquez to the case using body-camera video from a traffic stop shortly after the crash that captured him as one of two men who lacked identification.
• A later search of an impounded vehicle recovered a .22 Ruger Mark 1 and a box of .22 rounds missing about 10, evidence investigators say aligns with the shooting.
• Court records describe three gunshot wounds to the left side of the victim’s face and one to his neck, while motive and the exact timeline remain under investigation; the affidavit also cites claims about hauling stolen ATVs and a statement from the suspect’s wife about fired rounds.
• Diaz Vazquez was arrested Sept. 3 in Las Vegas, New Mexico on an unrelated warrant, is now charged with second-degree murder, is held on a $500,000 cash-only bond in Doña Ana County, and is awaiting extradition as agencies across local, state, and federal levels coordinate the case.