Wabash County – Recently an Indiana State Police investigation into the alleged murder of Alexis Serrano, 21, Indianapolis, IN has led to the arrests of Jose Guadelupe Maya-Sandoval, 36, Ft. Wayne, IN and Gerardo Ruiz-Aviles, 33, Indianapolis, IN. Both men were served with a Wabash Circuit Court arrest warrant alleging a single count of murder.
On June 28, 2018, Indiana State Police detectives started a criminal investigation after the body of a deceased male, later identified as Alexis Serrano, was located in a wooded area of the Mississinewa State Forest. Serrano’s body was found near Wabash County Road 1100 South and Wabash County Road 450 West by people walking to an area to go fishing. Further investigation revealed that Serrano had been reported missing to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on June 6, 2018.
An autopsy conducted on July 1, 2018 revealed that Serrano’s death was a homicide.
During the course of the investigation, detectives developed enough probable cause to be granted arrest warrants for Jose Guadelupe Maya-Sandoval, 36, Ft. Wayne, IN and Gerardo Ruiz-Aviles, 33, Indianapolis, IN. Both men face a charge of murder. Maya-Sandoval was arrested Friday morning during a traffic stop near his Ft Wayne home. He is incarcerated in the Allen County Jail awaiting transport to Wabash County. This morning, Indiana State Police detectives read Ruiz-Aviles his warrant, at the New Castle Correctional Facility, where he is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Indiana State Police detectives by calling the Indiana State Police Peru Post at 1-800-382-0689 or 765-473-6666.
Detectives working from the Indiana State Police Peru Post were assisted with the investigation by troopers and detectives from the Indiana State Police Ft Wayne Post, the Indiana State Police North Zone SWAT, the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.