GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 38-year-old man is now behind bars and charged with murder in the shooting death of a Lawrenceville father.
Mario Rene Lopez-Jolon, 38, was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies. He was taken into custody at a hotel in Huntsville, Alabama.
The deadly incident happened on July 3 when Gwinnett County Police found the body of 40-year-old Guadalupe Garcia Rodriguez in his truck on Paden Cove Trail.
Neighbors said they spotted the truck around the neighborhood days earlier -- and in the exact spot where it was found.
"For two days, I've been passing by me and my wife. We were talking about it, but, you know, we figured it just broke down by the side and woke up this morning and heard this all like, wow," a man who lives nearby said at the time.
11Alive previously spoke with the victim's wife, Rosa Quintanilla, over the phone.
Quintanilla said the last time she spoke to her husband was before the 40-year-old left for work with a tree-cutting company. She said she said "bye" to him, and he said it back. After he didn't answer her messages or calls throughout the day, she called his manager, who said he never showed up for work. That's when Rosa called the police.
She said he was a family man, a good dad to their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.
According to a news release, Gwinnett County Police received new information about the case on Thursday. Detectives learned that the victim was in a dispute over land in Mexico with the father of an ex-girlfriend.
Investigators then followed up with the ex-girlfriend, who lived in Lawrenceville. After conducting multiple interviews, investigators identified the suspect and found out the suspect was in Alabama.
Lopez-Jolon's arrest comes after the department released a picture of a man they believed to be connected to the homicide.
Lopez-Jolon will be extradited to Gwinnett County from Madison County, Alabama.