An El Paso man was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man’s body was found near a dumpster fire near Downtown El Paso, authorities said.
Officers arrested Heriberto Chavez, 41, on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of an unknown man only identified as John Doe by police, El Paso Police Department spokesman Officer Adrian Cisneros said in a news release.
No attorney is named in court records for Chavez.
El Paso police responded to a report of a dumpster fire about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, outside Kelly Center for Hunger Relief, a charity food distribution center, at 915 N. Florence St., near Montana Avenue. El Paso Fire Department firefighters were at the scene battling the blaze.
Officers arrived at the scene and found the man’s body. El Paso police are investigating and determined the “death was suspicious in nature,” the news release states. No further details have been released.
An investigation identified Chavez as the person allegedly responsible for the murder, the news release states. Chavez was arrested on Sunday, May 31, on suspicion of murder. He was booked into the El Paso County jail without bond, jail logs show.
The victim’s identification is still pending, the news release states. The Kelly Center for Hunger Relief was closed on Saturday, May 30, as police continued to investigate the death.
This is the sixth murder of 2026 compared to 11 at the same time last year.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man arrested on murder charge in man’s death near dumpster fire
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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