A suspect in a fatal December 2021 shooting in Rio Grande City was arrested last week, according to police.

Joel Velasquez-Rios was arrested on Monday, Feb. 24 by agents with the Starr County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. His arrest comes over three years after he was named a suspect in connection with a homicide investigation. 

Velasquez-Rios was one of two men wanted in connection with the Dec. 29, 2021 death of Sergio Sanchez, who police found unresponsive at a home on the 100 block of R. Corona Sr. Drive, according to a news release from the Rio Grande Police Department.

READ MORE HERE: Two suspects wanted in connection to Rio Grande City homicide

The other suspect, identified as Alfredo “El Diablo” Reyna, was arrested in Aug. 2023 after fleeing to Mexico, according to previous reports.

An affidavit obtained by Channel 5 News said Sanchez’s body was found with a “severe” head injury, and several gunshot wounds on both his legs. 

Both men were identified as suspects in the death of Sanchez after surveillance footage from a camera inside the residence showed both men in the home with Sanchez, the affidavit reveals.

At one point in the video, Reyna was seen taking Sanchez’s gun and unloading it, and Velasquez-Rios was seen walking into the home with a metal bar.

Later, the video showed both men leaving the home with Velasquez-Rios still holding the bar, and Reyna holding a firearm and a bottle, the affidavit states.

A few minutes later, the camera captured video footage of Sanchez dragging himself out of the living room and into the kitchen.

“Sanchez then dragged himself back into the living room floor and did not come back out,” the affidavit states. “The video clearly showed blood on Sanchez and the floor.”

According to Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez, Velasquez-Rios was initially picked up by federal agents, but they transferred the suspect to Starr County when they saw he had a warrant out for his arrest on the murder charge.

Bond was not set for Velasquez-Rios.