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Report: Mexican police chief arrested in connection to Mormon family massacre

News outlets have reported that the police chief of the town of Janos in the Mexican state of Chihuahua was arrested in connection to the Sonora attack.


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Mexican authorities have reportedly arrested a police chief in connection to the massacre of nine women and children from a Mormon family in northern Mexico last month. 

Fidel Alejandro Villegas, the police chief in the small town of Janos in the state of Chihuahua, was arrested as part of the investigation into the Nov. 4 attack in the neighboring state of Sonora, the New York Times reported on Friday. 

A Mexican federal official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest to Reuters.

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Villegas is accused of protecting organized crime in the region, but it is unclear exactly what his connection might be to the killings. 

Credit: AP
FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2019 file photo, men carry the remains of Dawna Ray Langford, 43, and her sons Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2, who were killed by drug cartel gunmen, before they are buried at a family cemetery in La Mora, Sonora state, Mexico. Extended families gathered Thursday, Nov. 28, for the traditional meal in Colonia LeBaron, where three women and six children were killed in the Nov. 4 ambush. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

This is not the first time Mexican authorities have announced arrests in connection to the murders of the three women and six children. 

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The women and children were driving in a caravan from one part of Mexico to another when they were ambushed and shot dead by suspected cartel members. 

RELATED: After attack kills 9 family members, family starts road to recovery and wonders what's next

They had dual nationality and were part of an offshoot Mormon community. 

The FBI has worked with Mexican authorities in the investigation.

MORE RELATED COVERAGE: 

'They killed our community': Family speaks out after 9 members massacred in Mexico

Mormon families fleeing Mexico violence arrive in Arizona

Last victim of Mexico border killings buried as others leave

 LeBaron community was founded as a sanctuary for polygamy, but its past is riddled with violence

 'My heart just broke': Gilbert mother raises money for victims of northern Mexico attack

 'They did not deserve this': Queen Creek woman mourns family members killed in northern Mexico ambush

 How a Mormon offshoot community ended up in Mexico, and why they aren't going anywhere after the massacre

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