Levi Spencer Cotton, 32, was arrested Tuesday at his workplace in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is charged with murder in the July 4, 2017, killing of Joe James Rangel, also known as Jaime Rangel, 57, at Rangel's home on Shady Lane in Seguin. The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office said Cotton is being held at the Salt Lake County Detention Center while awaiting possible extradition to Guadalupe County.
Rangel was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside his house in the Meadow Lake subdivision. Early reports described an unidentified man seen at the home the night before the killing, and party attendees were interviewed, but the investigation stalled. The case stayed unsolved for more than nine years. In February, cold-case investigator Charlie Drake joined the search. According to investigators, new interviews and evidence reopened leads.
A witness told investigators that Cotton confessed to killing Rangel. In 2020, Crime Stoppers received two tips identifying Cotton, and one tipster alleged he described details of the shooting. Sheriff Joshua Ray said his office never stopped working the case.