‘Police have strong leads in guard’s fatal shooting’

Police have very strong leads in their investigation into the fatal shooting of security guard James Patrick Deleon Guerrero inside a poker arcade in Afetnas last April 21, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero.

In an interview, Commissioner Deleon Guerrero disclosed that they are pursuing many leads but at this point they would not classify those individuals as “persons of interest.”

He said there are certain thresholds that have to be met before investigators move from one category to another or before they could classify a person as one of interest.

“But we do have very strong leads…some names [from] that particular incident,” Deleon Guerrero said. “But other than having strong leads, we really don’t want to comment any further.”

As for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s participation in the investigation, he said DPS and the FBI are working on a number of different projects or investigations together, including the security guard’s murder.

“We’re going to continue to work with one another. We always have a good working relationship with our federal partners here,” he said.

He noted that the FBI has a great deal of resources that DPS can avail of in this cooperative arrangement.

Deleon Guerrero was on duty at Royal Poker in Afetnas when a masked man entered the establishment and shot him with a handgun.

Police found the 39-year-old Deleon Guerrero’s body in the bathroom. A female cashier was also shot at, but she was not hit as she had taken cover and locked herself inside the cashier’s booth.

The suspect failed to get any money and fled on foot, police said.

An autopsy showed that Deleon Guerrero died of a gunshot wound on the right side of his chest.

Police said the surveillance camera’s footage shows that the armed suspect is about 5’8” to 5’10” tall, medium built, was wearing a gray military pattern dress uniform, and a black mask covering his face.

The suspect forced Deleon Guerrero at gunpoint inside the bathroom. The suspect then approached the cashier window and the female cashier hid under the cashier’s booth.

Shots were fired, then the gunman fled the scene on foot toward Beach Road, San Antonio.

The victim, a resident of Chalan Kanoa, is first cousin of Commissioner Deleon Guerrero. When the shooting happened, his son and common-law wife were in Guam.