CLINTON COUNTY — A 30-year-old Breese man was sentenced Monday in Clinton Count Court to 19 years in prison for the murder last year of 22-year-old Marcos Chaves, also of Breese.

Valentin Navarro-Lopez pleaded guilty over the summer to a charge of second-degree murder in exchange for the other charges being dismissed.

He was originally charged with four counts of first-degree murder, along with Class 2 felony kidnapping and Class 4 felony unlawful restraint, but the kidnapping and unlawful restraint were dismissed earlier in the case.

According to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, on November 5, 2022, they were notified of the possible kidnapping and unlawful restraint of Marcos Chaves.

Detectives developed a suspect and later determined his whereabouts. The next day, Clinton County State’s Attorney J.D. Brandmeyer secured arrest warrants for Navarro-Lopez. He was taken into custody on those warrants in Gordon County Georgia.

Clinton County detectives traveled to Georgia and interviewed Lopez. The following day Chaves’ body was discovered near Carlyle Lake.