Ramon Darnell Stewart, 20, was arrested shooting death of Juan Antonio Loera.

Ramon Darnell Stewart, 20, was arrested Saturday in the July 21, 2006, shooting death of Juan Antonio Loera. Loera, 32, was shot to death as he stood next to a car at about 8:20 p.m. near Main Street and Power Road.
Witnesses said Loera and Stewart were next to the car, and said they heard two gunshots and saw a flash from a gun, police records show. Stewart fled, they told police. Stewart was arrested on an unrelated charge in August 2006, and told police he knew Loera but wasn't involved in the shooting. Investigators found shell casings at the scene that were later linked to a gun that a witness said belonged to Stewart, Mesa Detective Chris Arvayo said. The gun was recovered by Phoenix police in September 2006 during an unrelated incident, and the link between the gun and shell casings was discovered last May. Police also received an anonymous phone call that provided them with a description of a suspect and identified him by his first name, records show. The caller said the assailant lived in the Jefferson Park neighborhood south of where the shooting took place. After talking with neighbors, investigators identified Stewart as the suspect.Another witness later put Stewart in the area of the shooting about 10 minutes after gunshots were heard, records show. Police also said Stewart talked about the murder to another person.Stewart was booked on one count of second degree murder.

Posted in: Jefferson Park