Suspect in Clerk’s Death Arrested in Lancaster

Twelve hours after a Canoga Park man was fatally shot in a market robbery, a 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder at his family’s home in Lancaster, a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy said Monday.

After an intensive investigation, deputies arrested John Charles Alvez late Sunday night and found more than $1,000 cash they believe he stole from Carniceria Rodriguez on Moorpark Avenue that morning, authorities said.

Alvez’s mother said her son was a friend of the shooting victim, 21-year-old Marco Aurelio Rodriguez of Canoga Park. Rodriguez, a clerk at the market, died of gunshot wounds to the head.

Gladis Alvez said her son worked in his father’s herb and spice business, and that the neighborhood market was one of his customers.

Deputies, who initially said they had scant evidence and no witnesses to the crime, declined Monday to say how a dozen investigators were so quick to find and arrest Alvez.

“We’d love to be able to talk about this,” said Senior Deputy Chuck Buttell, who said he feared making any statements that could prejudice a potential death-penalty case.

Deputies said there was no video camera to record events in the store and declined to say what lead them to Alvez, their sole suspect.

Rodriguez was at the cash register in his family’s store at about 11:25 a.m. Sunday when he was shot. Three employees were in the back of the market, but they told investigators that because of a noisy meat cutter they were unaware of what was taking place in the front, Buttell said.

Buttell said investigators searched Alvez’s car and home, where they were found a “large amount of cash” and other undisclosed evidence. He was arrested at 11:04 p.m. as he left his parents’ home. He remains in Ventura County Jail without bail, pending an arraignment Wednesday.