Suspect indicted for 2020 murder
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By Breyana Segura
A six-year investigation into the death of a man found along a rural road has led to an arrest, according to Frio County Sheriff Peter Salinas.
Deputies took 47-year-old Santos Lopez into custody without incident in Devine on Sunday, July 19.
The arrest follows a grand jury indictment warrant issued on July 7, linking Lopez to the 2020 murder of Jonathan Frias.
Sheriff Salinas said the case began the morning of November 17, 2020, when deputies were dispatched to CR 2880 in northern Frio County. Construction workers in the area had discovered an unresponsive man lying near a roadside ditch and alerted authorities.
Moore volunteer firefighters arrived and confirmed the man was dead. Emergency responders noted trauma to the victim’s head alongside other suspicious circumstances, prompting a formal homicide investigation.
The victim was subsequently identified as Frias.
In a collaborative effort, the sheriff’s department and the Texas Rangers determined that Frias had been killed at a diffrerent location and his body had been dumped along the roadway.
Investigators spent several years pursuing leads, conducting interviews, and analyzing evidence before securing the indictment against Lopez this month.
“This arrest represents years of dedicated investigative work,” the sheriff said Monday afternoon. “We are grateful for the persistence of the Texas Rangers and all agencies involved. Our thoughts remain with Jonathan Frias’s family as this case moves forward towards the prosecution phase.”
