Nearly 20 months after a man was shot dead on an east Mesa street, police believe they have arrested his killer.
Ramon Darnell Stewart, 20, of Mesa was taken into custody Saturday, and booked on a count of second-degree murder.
Stewart is accused in the July 21, 2006 slaying of Juan Antonio Loera, 32. That night, police found Loera, dead from multiple gunshot wounds, in the 7000 block of East Main Street.
According to police, they determined Stewart was the triggerman using eyewitness accounts from the scene and a tip from an anonymous caller identifying details about the suspect.
Also, investigators recovered shell casings from a gun found weeks later in Phoenix. That gun matched the description of a weapon seen at the scene, police said.
In August 2006, Stewart was arrested by Maricopa County probation officers. At that time, Stewart told Mesa police he knew Loera, but denied any involvement with the killing.
