NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A missing person case became a homicide investigation in Newport News after Tyreek Lemar Vincent, last seen on Sept. 20, was discovered dead on Oct. 9 near Dafia Drive in Hampton.
Police arrested Azbel Saralegi, charging him with first-degree murder as well as with several firearms charges.
Recently obtained court documents illustrate how officers connected Saralegi to the crime. The documents also show that several people contributed to covering up the homicide.
According to the documents, an investigation by Newport News detectives found two inmates at the Newport News City Jail had information on what happened the night Tyreek Vincent went missing.
They say those inmates told detectives Saralegi was the last person to see Vincent on Sept. 20.
The criminal complaint says the investigation led detectives to a house on 32nd Street in Newport News, where court documents say Saralegi lured and later killed Vincent.
“In the evening hours of September 20th, several individuals took part in concealing Mr. Vincent’s body," the court document say, which brought investigators to the 500 block of Dafia Drive in Hampton, where Vincent’s body was found last week.
It was a traffic stop by Newport News police days after Vincent’s disappearance that led them to Saralegi.
In a separate criminal complaint, records show on Sept. 23, Newport News officers pulled Saralegi over for a traffic stop. But Saralegi drove away from police and then ran from his car.
Newport News police found crack cocaine and an AR-15 in his car, and discovered he was wanted in the city of Hampton.
Saralegi was arraigned on Oct. 12 on a first-degree murder charge as well as several firearms charges.
The court documents also state Saralegi will be back in court for a review hearing on Oct. 30.