By Linwood Outlaw III -- Daily Staff Writer

BERRYVILLE — Authorities still have not been able to track down the main suspect in last month's double shooting in White Post, which left one man dead and another seriously wounded.

Prosecutors, however, will look to indict the suspect, Jose Cuevas-Gonzalez, 53, on three charges related to the shooting, Clarke County Sheriff Anthony W. Roper said Friday.

Roper said authorities will seek to indict Cuevas-Gonzalez today in Clarke County Circuit Court on murder, possession of a firearm while in commission of a felony and possession of a firearm while being an illegal alien charges.

Cuevas-Gonzalez, who Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said was in the country illegally, is the primary suspect in the slaying of Juan Francisco-Cortez, 22, of Charlotte, N.C., and wounding of Daniel Guerrero-Lopez, 28, in a rural area on Nelson Road on July 9.

Cuevas-Gonzalez is still at large. Police obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect last month.

"We're still running down leads. That's about all I can say. ... We don't have him in our possession," Roper said Friday. "We've been working pretty hard with the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and are actively seeking his whereabouts."

Authorities received a call from a passerby about an altercation near 304 Nelson Road around 2:20 p.m. on July 9. When they arrived at the scene, authorities discovered a black Cadillac Escalade with North Carolina tags. Francisco-Cortez was found inside the vehicle and Guerrero-Lopez was outside, both with gunshot wounds. Authorities discovered two bullet holes on the passenger side door and five shell casings on the ground near the vehicle.

Francisco-Cortez was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was performed on his body at the state medical examiner's office in Fairfax, where it was determined he died of multiple gunshot wounds. Guerrero-Lopez was flown to a Washington-area hospital for treatment of a single gunshot wound and was expected to recover. Both victims also were in the country illegally, authorities said.

According to a search warrant filed in Clarke County Circuit Court, the owner of the residence on 304 Nelson Road told investigators that Cuevas-Gonzalez was a farm employee at that property. The owner said Cuevas-Gonzalez received a phone call moments before the shooting, and was overheard having an argument. Cuevas-Gonzalez then asked the owner if he could leave for five minutes. Gunshots were heard shortly after he left, and he did not return to the property, the warrant states.

Authorities initially searched a residence believed to have been occupied by Cuevas-Gonzalez on 50 Prospect Springs Lane in Boyce, and seized various paperwork from the home. Police also interviewed Cuevas-Gonzalez's nephew, who said the victims were at the Prospect Springs Lane residence at 2:15 p.m. on the day of the shooting, a search warrant states.

Police also executed a search warrant last month on a South Loudoun Street residence occupied by the suspect's brother. The search warrant identified the brother as Jose Manuel Cuevas-Gonzalez, no age provided. He was later identified as Antonio Cuevas-Gonzalez. The man was not charged with any offenses related to the shootings.

Police found Cuevas-Gonzalez's vehicle, a four-door Buick, near U.S. 340 in Jefferson County, W.Va., hours after the shooting. Anyone with information about Jose Cuevas-Gonzalez's whereabouts may call the Sheriff's Office at 955-1234.

* Contact Linwood Outlaw III at loutlaw@nvdaily.com