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Monday, Dec. 28, 2009

Suspect in 2006 Atwater slaying arrested

A 47-year-old suspect wanted in a 2006 Atwater homicide case is behind bars, after being arrested Friday in Lathrop.

Fabian Zavala-Pena was taken into custody by San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies. He will eventually be sent to Merced County to face homicide charges in the death of 46-year-old Gergorio Gonzalez, according to Detective Armando Echevarria of the Atwater Police Department.

San Joaquin County investigators notified Atwater police that Zavala-Pena was in the area, after an incident Thursday where he possibly brandished a weapon at a gathering, Echevarria said.

After a standoff with deputies, Zavala-Pena was arrested. Echevarria said San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives called his department about the arrest around 5 p.m. Friday. "We're extremely happy that he's in custody," Echevarria said.

Atwater police believe Zavala-Pena may have fled to Mexico after the killing and recently returned to the area.

He's accused of shooting Gonzalez, his next-door neighbor, on Oct. 17, 2006. Detectives believe Pena and Gonzalez's family had been engaged in an ongoing neighbor dispute spanning more than two weeks.

The day of Gonzalez's death, police responded to his residence in the 1900 block of Olive Avenue. He was found on the front lawn, and died about an hour later. Witnesses to the shooting told police that Zavala-Pena shot Gonzalez as he stood in his yard. Pena fled on foot before officers arrived at the scene, police said.

Friday's standoff in Lathrop happened around 2 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 900 block of East H Street, the Stockton Record reported.

Deputies took up positions around the block and a special weapons and tactics team was called in, along with negotiators. Investigators said there were others inside the apartment with Zavala-Pena.

No one was injured during the standoff, which ended peacefully, the Stockton Record reported.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.