Slain Mexican May Have Been Ex-Policeman

San Diego police said Monday that a suspected bandit killed in a shoot-out Saturday night along the international border may have worked for a decade as a policeman in Mexico City and in Tijuana.

Homicide Lt. Paul Ybarrondo said that a nephew of Julio Arroyo Zaragoza, the dead man, told San Diego police of his uncle’s background as a policeman, and that Arroyo was scheduled to return to work with Tijuana police on Monday. Ybarrondo said that the nephew, who lives in San Diego but whom he declined to identify, told investigators that a second man captured before the gunfight erupted is Arroyo’s brother. That man, still in custody, was identified by police as Jaime Arroyo Zaragoza, 23. He was not injured.

Julio Arroyo, 33, was shot in the forehead and leg when he exchanged gunfire in a canyon east of the San Ysidro port of entry with officers from the Border Crimes Prevention Unit. The unit is a special task force of volunteers from the Border Patrol and San Diego police who patrol the area at night looking for bandits who prey on the thousands of aliens who attempt to enter the United States illegally through the rugged canyons on the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to Ybarrondo, police recovered jewelry, watches and Mexican and U.S. currency from Julio Arroyo’s body. “It looks like they had been pulling some robberies that night,” Ybarrondo said.

Ybarrondo said that two Spanish-speaking investigators from the San Diego Police Department were in Tijuana on Monday trying to verify whether Julio Arroyo had been a member of the Tijuana and Mexico City police departments.

A policeman who answered the phone at the office of Tijuana Police Chief Gerardo M. Sosa Olachea denied that Julio Arroyo had ever worked for the department and that he had been scheduled to begin working as policeman there on Monday.

The man, who refused to give his name, said that Sosa Olachea was not in the office, but he did confirm that San Diego investigators were in the building inquiring about Julio Arroyo’s background. The man said he could not confirm whether Julio Arroyo had ever worked as a Mexico City policeman. Efforts to obtain information from Mexico City police were unsuccessful.

Border Patrol Agent Fred Stevens, 39, who was shot five times in the wild exchange of gunfire Saturday night, was reported in good condition at UC San Diego Medical Center on Monday. Ybarrondo said that Stevens was shot twice in the chest from about six feet away with a .38-caliber pistol believed to have been fired by Julio Arroyo. Stevens, who was also hit in the wrist, groin and hip, was saved by an armored vest he was wearing, Ybarrondo said.

Border Patrol spokesman Mike Williams said that Stevens, who is married and has two children, is expected to return to duty when he recovers. On Sunday, police said that Stevens was shot with a .357 magnum, but on Monday Ybarrondo said the weapon was actually a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson detective special. The gun was found near Julio Arroyo’s body. Jaime Arroyo was armed with a .22-caliber revolver, but he had not fired the weapon.

Agent John Crocitto and Officer Cesar Solis, who were working with Stevens on the night of the shooting, were not injured. Ybarrondo said that Stevens emptied his service revolver of six rounds in the gunfight, that Solis fired at least 11 rounds from his 9-mm handgun and that Crocitto fired three times. Julio Arroyo emptied his handgun of five bullets, hitting Stevens with each shot, Ybarrondo said.

Police said they were awaiting the results of laboratory tests to determine who fired the shot that fatally wounded Julio Arroyo, because Stevens and Crocitto both fired .357 magnum handguns.

According to Border Patrol and police accounts of the shooting, Stevens, Crocitto and Solis saw three men who were acting suspiciously at 11:25 p.m. atop a ridge. The three Americans walked toward the men and were approached by Jaime Arroyo. Jaime Arroyo began talking to them in Spanish and Stevens answered. At that point, Jaime Arroyo realized they were policemen and began to run toward Mexico.

The three officers chased him and tackled him. Jaime Arroyo “resisted violently,” police said. As Crocitto and Solis were handcuffing the man, Julio Arroyo and the third man jumped out of the bushes and began firing at the officers. The officers returned the fire, hitting Julio Arroyo, whose body rolled 100 feet down into a canyon, police said. In the confusion, the third man got away. Ybarrondo said that police do not know whether the third man was armed.