Police Detail Investigation Leading to Three Arrests in High-Profile Southlake Murder

Three Mexican citizens, including two former police officers, are in federal custody facing federal charges in connection with the 2013 execution-style murder of drug-cartel lawyer Juan Guerrero-Chapa in Southlake Town Square.

Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, a/k/a "Chuy" and "Juan Ramos," 58, is charged with one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and aiding and abetting according to a federal indictment unsealed yesterday.  He was arrested at the checkpoint on the Anzalduas International Bridge to Mexico.

Two others were arrested on the same charge as outlined in a federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday afternoon.

Two suspects in the high-profile murder of a drug-cartel lawyer in Southlake are former police officers in Mexico, according to records obtained by NBC 5.

Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, 30, was also arrested on the Anzalduas International Bridge at the checkpoint. Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes, 58, who is legally in the U.S. on a green card, was arrested at a residence in Edinburg, Texas. Ledezma-Cepeda is Ledezma-Campano’s father and Cepeda-Cortes’s cousin.

The father and son were once police officers in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, which is a suburb of Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico, according to Mexican news reports and records obtained by NBC 5.

Chapa was gunned down in broad daylight, on May 22, 2013, while sitting in a Range Rover parked near the Victoria’s Secret as he and his wife returned to their car from shopping.

The FBI, the DEA, and other federal agencies joined Southlake's Department of Public Safety in the a 16-month long search for the Chapa's killers.

Investigators said from the beginning the murder had all the markings of a professional hit.

The FBI arrested three men in connection with the murder of an attorney in Southlake.

Authorities said the men purchased and rented several vehicles to avoid detection and followed Chapa on several occasions and even placed mobile tracking devices on Chapa's vehicles including the Range Rover he was in when he was murdered.

Authorities release new details in the arrest of three men in connection with a 2013 murder in Southlake Town Square.

"The arrest today should be a shot across the bow to those who are determined to bring havoc and violence to our communities," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Daniel Salter.

Southlake Police Chief Stephen Mylett said investigators expected to identify and arrest additional co-conspirators involved in Chapa's murder.

He also had a message for anyone considering a heinous, public crime.

Juan Jesus Guerrero-Chapa, 43, was shot and killed at Southlake Town Square Wednesday. NBC 5 has learning that he was an attorney linked to a major Mexican drug cartel who had been living with his family in a secure, gated community with his wife and three children. Southlake police are asking anyone who either witnessed the shooting or has information...

"Don't do it. If you do it, this is what you're going to get, a unified coalition of law enforcement professionals who will bring you to justice. No matter where you are, no matter where you go to hide, we're going to find you and we're going to prosecute you and you're going to spend the rest of your time on this Earth in jail," Mylett said.

"While the investigation of this heinous, public crime remains ongoing, residents can be assured that your safety and protection is of greatest concern to law enforcement," said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Diego Rodriguez. 

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