SOQUEL — Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s detectives have arrested a fifth person in a homicide investigation.

Jose Leonardo Alfaro Juarez, 20, was arrested on Thursday in Mendota, said Sgt. Brian Cleveland.

On Oct. 13, the body of Bernardo Rodas, 41, was found on a steep ravine off the roadway on upper North Rodeo Gulch.

Juarez is the fifth suspect arrested for the murder of Rodas. During the investigation, Sheriff’s detectives learned about a home in Mendota where Juarez was hiding and contacted the Fresno County Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium, who arrested him on the Santa Cruz County arrest warrant.

Detectives met with officers from Fresno County, took custody of Juarez and booked him into the Santa Cruz County jail Thursday night.

Rodas was reported a missing person on Oct. 10. His body was recovered on Oct. 13 off the roadway on upper North Rodeo Gulch. A forensic autopsy determined Rodas died from a combination of multiple stab wounds to his torso and a gunshot wound to his head.

Between Oct. 16-19, detectives arrested one adult and three minors for the murder of Rodas. Their ages range from 15 to 22. The fourth suspect, a 17-year-old male, is from Santa Cruz.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Dee Baldwin at 454-7635 or email [email protected].

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