Arizona man charged with 1st-degree murder in connection with 2021 San Juan County killing
A man serving time in an Arizona prison on for an unrelated offense faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with a 2021 killing in San Juan County.
Francisco Vasquez Jr., 28, was charged with first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to a news release from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. The release states that sheriff’s detectives investigating the murder of 56-year-old William “Billy” Dixon on Aug. 9, 2021, on County Road 3400 in San Juan County recently obtained statements from two witnesses who named Vasquez as the shooter in Dixon’s killing.
During a subsequent interview with Vasquez, the detectives obtained a confession from him for Dixon’s murder, according to the release.
“We are very proud of the hard work put in by our detectives to solve this brutal crime,” investigations Capt. Kevin Burns of the San Juan County Sheriff's Office stated in the release. “The investigation and arrest are a testament to the ceaseless effort by these detectives to hold this menace accountable.”
According to the release, the initial investigation into Dixon’s death produced no results. Detectives found him dead of an apparent gunshot wound on the morning of Aug. 9, 2021, outside a mobile home on County Road 3400, but were unable to identify a suspect after executing numerous search warrants and conducting several interviews.
New evidence and witness statements surfaced earlier this year, the release states, connecting Vasquez to Dixon’s killing. Vasquez had moved to Arizona after Dixon’s death, where he was arrested on an armed robbery charge and is serving time for that offense at a state prison in Douglas, Arizona.
On Aug. 22, Detective Cody Decker of the Sheriff's Office traveled to Douglas to interview Vasquez at the prison, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Vasquez waived his Miranda rights and eventually described in detail how he had shot Dixon twice in the head early on the morning of Aug. 9, 2021, at the residence on County Road 3400, the affidavit states.
Vasquez allegedly told Decker he shot Dixon because he believed he had raped a female friend of his, the document states. Vasquez later repeated the story without changing any of the details, Decker writes in the affidavit.
Dustin O’Brien of the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office said the county’s warrant for Vasquez will be outstanding until he is returned here for booking. The timetable for his return depends largely on whether Vasquez chooses to contest his extradition, O’Brien said.
Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Francisco Vasquez Jr. faces murder charge in death of William Dixon
