Fugitive Wanted For Kidnapping & Murder Captured Here, Arresting Officers Recognized

by | Nov 15, 2022 | Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Fugitive Wanted For Kidnapping and Murder Apprehended Here, Arresting Officers Recognized

Sheriff Mitch Ralston Reports:

On Sunday morning, November 6, 2022, our deputies received information from authorities in Clinton County, Illinois that a fugitive wanted in connection with a kidnapping and suspected homicide had fled Illinois and was believed to be hiding in Gordon County. Deputy Sheriffs immediately responded to a private residence on Moores Ferry Road in the Plainville community. The deputies approached the residence and were initially given misleading information. However, sensing that something was amiss, they pursued their investigation and proceeded to search inside the home. They found the fugitive, subsequently identified as one Valentine Nau Navarro-Lopez, age 29, of Breese, Clinton County, Illinois, in a bed. He was arrested without incident. Navarro-Lopez was taken to the Gordon County Jail, charged with being a Fugitive From Justice. The Clinton County, Illinois Sheriff’s Office was notified of the arrest, and immediately dispatched their detectives to Gordon County. The execution of a search warrant at a secondary location near Calhoun by Gordon County Sheriff’s detectives and Clinton County (Illinois) detectives yielded the acquisition of critical physical evidence. Clinton County (Illinois) Sheriff’s detectives arrived at the Gordon County Jail late Sunday evening and conducted an interview with Navarro-Lopez. Shortly thereafter, the body of one Marcos Chavez, age 22, also of Breese, Illinois, was found in a lake in Clinton County (Illinois). Navarro-Lopez was returned to Illinois where he faces charges of kidnapping and murder.

Clinton County is located in southwestern Illinois, along the Kaskaskia River. The county seat is Carlyle.

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Today, (November 15), Sheriff Mitch Ralston presented the five deputy sheriffs involved in the apprehension of the fugitive with Meritorious Service Awards. Pictured below (left to right) are: Deputy J.R. Anderson . Deputy Joshua Morse, Deputy Matthew Flippen (second award), Deputy Erik Ochoa, and Sergeant Bobby Garcia (second award).