Man arrested for murder after body found in car at Lilburn shopping center

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – A 27-year-old Lawrenceville resident has been arrested for the murder of 30-year-old Kevin Valdez of Dublin in Lilburn on May 19, according to Gwinnett County Police Department.

GCPD says they received a call at around 3:15 a.m. alerting them that a man had been found dead in a red car parked in a shopping center lot at 880 Indian Trail Road in Lilburn.

When officers arrived, they found a man dead in the passenger seat. As they started investigating, officers realized there were two crime scenes. It appears that the incident leading to the shooting began further back on Indian Trail between Dickens and Burns roads and ended at the shopping center.

The victim was identified on May 20. At that time, they said that the motivation behind the shooting remained unclear and asked tipsters to call Crime Stoppers with information.

On June 6, GCPD announced that Alexis Coria has been arrested. Coria is being charged with malice murder, felony murder, and two counts of aggravated assault. He was arrested by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, Coria is a member of the Surenos Gang, which is a major Hispanic street gang in Georgia. The gang is known for distributing cocaine, heroic, marijuana, and methamphetamine. They have also been known to be involved in assaults, auto theft, drive-by shootings and homicide. 

GCSO says that fugitive investigators were assigned June 3 to locate Coria. On June 5, he was spotted leaving an address in Dunwoody. Investigators followed Coria until he arrived in Acworth, where a felony stop was conducted. He was taken into custody without incident.