RUSKIN, Fla. — A second arrest has been made in connection to the body that was found burning in an open field last month in Ruskin.
After arresting 20-year-old Christian Alvarez, deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office were searching for Carlos Almaraz-Barbosa, 26, who was reportedly with the victim at a bar on the night of April 14.
Alvarez told deputies during an interview on April 21 that he witnessed Almaraz-Barbosa kill the victim, tape the body up, pour gasoline on it and light the body on fire in the field, according to the affidavit.
Weeks later, the 26-year-old was found by the U.S. Marshal's Service in Houston, a news release from the sheriff's office explains. He was arrested and is now facing charges of second-degree murder, abuse of a dead human body, tampering with physical evidence and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
"Our detectives never stopped working this brutal case," Sheriff Chad Chronsiter said in a statement. "The callous individuals arrested will now be held accountable for their despicable actions. I know nothing can replace the life lost, but I hope the victim's family finds peace knowing all those responsible are behind bars."
Almaraz-Barbosa is now waiting for extradition to Hillsborough County.
The crime investigation began just after 8 a.m. on April 15, when a 911 caller said they drove by what looked like a mannequin with an arrow in its back burning in an empty field off of 14th Avenue.
Once fire rescue crews put out the blaze, investigators determined that the "mannequin" was actually a dead body with a "large, bladed weapon" in his back.
The sheriff's office said the man was so badly burned, he was not able to be immediately identified. But a paystub with his name on it was found close by.
Medical examiners later found what appeared to be tape around the man's right arm and a belt around his ankles. These findings, along with the knife in the back, led the sheriff's office to determine this was a homicide.
Detectives spoke to multiple witnesses, including the man's wife who reportedly said her husband had left for work the previous morning, Friday, April 14, and did not return home, which was not normal.
They also interviewed three other men who worked with the victim and were out drinking with him that Friday night, an arrest affidavit says. According to the document, investigators spotted the men on surveillance footage between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on Saturday in the victim's truck at multiple Hillsborough County gas stations.
This remains an active investigation.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrea Chu contributed to this report.