SAN ANTONIO – The trail ended with the arrest of Jerry Idrogo Friday in Ohio, but it began in San Antonio - and before Balcones Heights police Officer Julian Pesina was murdered.
A murder warrant for Idrogo, 33, was issued Thursday. That sparked a cross-country, multi-agency search that began with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit.
"We began using all available resources in the best places to try to track him down," said Tammy Burr, deputy chief of the Judicial and Court Services Division of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. "We contacted the right people who finally broke and told us his whereabouts."
The Sheriff's Office passed the information to the San Antonio Police Department and the FBI who traced Idrogo to his grandmother's Toledo, Ohio, home where he was arrested. But investigators had already started connecting the dots between Pesina and Idrogo, though they may not have known it at the time.
According to the arrest affidavit, on May 1, three days before the murder, law enforcement agents obtained and executed a search warrant at Idrogo's last known address - a home in the 1800 block of West Travis Street. Inside investigators found a ledger with Pesina's name, address, phone number and nickname under the heading "North Roster." The affidavit says the roster listed persons with ties to the Mexican Mafia.
ABC News Crime Expert Brad Garrett said the ledger is a pivotal piece of evidence that could not only give investigators insight into the crime, but also additional information about the Mexican Mafia.
"Potentially it's a fantastic piece of evidence because in addition to being linked to the office, who else is in the network?" Garrett said. "Does it come back to other players known to the narcotics detectives and DEA, or does it even come back to other officers in the department?"
Garrett said Idrogo could also offer up valuable information to law enforcement once he is extradited from Cleveland back to San Antonio.
"It really depends on his motivation and how much law enforcement can potentially protect him if he in fact helps them," he said.
During the search investigators also found what police later determined to be the getaway car Idrogo allegedly drove the night of Pesina's murder parked outside the home.
Three weeks later the same car was found at a South Side motel. A subsequent search uncovered gunshot residue particles all over the vehicle.
Arrested at grandma's house
Alice Medina, Idrogo's grandmother, watched as Toledo police officers took him into custody early Friday morning.
She said Idrogo had been living with her for about a month. His last name even appears on the mailbox in front of her home.
According to Medina, Idrogo was in Ohio to visit family, but she had no idea he was a wanted man.
"I know he came to visit, but the thing is I don't know about the charges or anything because I don't meddle in his life," Medina said.
When asked about the murder charges her grandson is facing Medina said, "There's nothing I can say."