Police make arrest in 1981 Addison murder

It was more than 26 years ago that John Spoors was gunned down in Addison after a traffic dispute.

Police developed a suspect, but the man fled back to his native Mexico before he could be questioned.

The years passed. Every once in a while, detectives worked a new lead, a possible sighting that didn't pan out.

But they didn't forget about John Spoors, a popular 23-year-old man who grew up in town, wrestled for the local high school, and was engaged to be married.

On Jan. 8, local police with the help of federal authorities finally got their man. The suspect, Jesus Rodriguez, 49, was arrested in Santa Gertrudis, Zacatecas. Mexican federal police swooped in on him with a warrant on Spoors' murder.

It'll likely be months before Rodriguez is extradited back to Illinois to face prosecution. Still, one of Spoors' younger brothers said Tuesday it is news his close-knit family thought would never come.

"My heart just sank into my stomach," said Michael Spoors, who lives in Kentucky. "I just thought, 'Oh my God.' Who would have thought after all this time?

"We're all so relieved. It's going to give us closure. And it's renewed my faith in the law. Honestly, after all these years, you wonder if it's ever going to happen."

John was gunned down just before 8 a.m. Aug. 26, 1981, in the parking lot of an Addison pancake house at 607 W. Lake St.

Michael Spoors said his brother, a home contractor, met his boss each morning at the pancake house before beginning work. He said his brother was transferring equipment from his van into his boss's station wagon in the parking lot when he was shot three times in the back.

Police said the shooting followed a traffic dispute minutes earlier, and the other motorist followed Spoors to the restaurant parking lot.

Police issued a warrant for Jesus Rodriguez earlier in the investigation on murder charges, but he was believed to have fled the country. They said he also used an alias, Jesus Villarreal.

Addison detective Cmdr. Mark Van Stedum said they developed new information in 2006 about the suspect's whereabouts in Mexico and began working with the FBI and Mexican officials for his capture.

Last year, two Addison police detectives knocked on Joseph Spoors' door in Beecher, Ill., with news that there'd been a break in his brother's murder. Last week, police called to say Rodriguez was under arrest in Mexico.

John Spoors graduated from Addison Trail High School. He was survived by his father, John William; mother, Eleanor; three brothers and two sisters.

His mother and all but two of the siblings live in Illinois. His father died some five years ago, without getting justice for his slain son.

"He never really got over it," Michael Spoors said. "He never understood why a son would go before his father."

John Spoors would have turned 50 this April 8.

His brother, Michael, said: "I think he would have had bunches of kids and been very successful. He had the personality for it. He was well-loved.

"He was the best."

Rodriguez is being held in Mexico City, where he awaits extradition to the United States.