Soknang Chham, 33, and Soksot Chham, 35, both of New Salem, are expected to have been returned to Massachusetts from Arizona and to be arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on Friday at 2 p.m., according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Soknang Chham faces one count of murder and one count of armed assault with intent to murder in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting death of Jose M. Rodriguez, 31, at the Southpoint Apartments in Amherst. Soksot Chham is charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
In a memorial in October, Rodriguez, the father of three young children, was remembered for his big smile and caring nature.
The two were taken into custody on arrest warrants by the United States Marshals Service on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 25, near Flagstaff, after investigators learned that they had left Massachusetts on a bus bound for Phoenix.
The incident remains under investigation by the Amherst Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detectives Unit attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.