By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
The Web site for the Fox network television show “America’s Most Wanted” began soliciting tips this past week on the whereabouts of a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Duenweg man two years ago on Pearl Avenue in Joplin.
Authorities say Jose DeLeon Alberto Cazares, 23, and his brother fled Joplin after the murder of Joshua D. Olson, 30, on July 14, 2006. The story “Cops: Rim Theft Ends in Murder” can be accessed under the fugitives section of the Web site www.amw.com.
“Police believe Jose Cazares may be traveling between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas,” the story informs Web site visitors in AMW’s all-points-bulletin news style.
The Jasper County prosecutor’s office filed charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action against Cazares within a week of the shooting, but he’s never been arrested.
Detective Mike Hobson told the Globe that the Joplin Police Department has been working in recent weeks with “America’s Most Wanted” to get the case featured on the Web site and possibly on the television show itself. Hobson said there is a chance it could make the show’s “15 Seconds of Shame” segment on a future edition.
A set of car wheel rims had been stolen from Olson two years ago and he went looking for them in the 1600 block of South Pearl Avenue with an unidentified friend. Olson is believed to have confronted Jose Cazares, also known as “Chino,” and his brother, Gerardo Cazares Jr., 24, also known as “Jerry,” outside a home there about the stolen rims. Hobson said an argument ensued.
“Josh had actually walked back to his vehicle, opened the door and was getting in the car,” Hobson said.
Jose Cazares allegedly followed Olson to the vehicle and shot him in the side of the head with a .380-caliber handgun, he said. The brothers and a female in their company then fled. Olson later died at a Joplin hospital.
Hobson said the murder investigation was hampered initially by the reluctance of Olson’s eyewitness friend to identify the alleged shooter because he wanted to take matters into his own hands and seek vengeance for the death of his friend.
Once they got the Cazares brothers identified, police learned that they had left town and were most likely headed to Brownsville, where several relatives live. Brownsville police tried to help locate the brothers when charges had yet to be filed, Hobson said.
“That same day (Jose Cazares) crossed the border over into Matamoros,” Hobson said. “A warrant was issued the next day, but he’s never come back over the border legally that we know of.”
He said Joplin police are hoping the long arm of the crime show can help border police or federal agents locate him through Mexican law enforcement channels. The brother has never been charged but is wanted by investigators for questioning as a material witness.
