An Arizona man charged in the stabbing and dismemberment of an 18-year-old Nebraska man was also the owner of a popular Tucson restaurant, according to reports.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office arrested 37-year-old Anthonie Ruinard on Wednesday.
Ruinard is facing murder charges and several other charges stemming from the homicide of 18-year-old Parker League.
Authorities say League was visiting friends in Arizona after graduating from a Nebraska high school. He was reported missing by his family on June 14th.
Ruinard was the owner of the well-known Pastiche Modern Eatery near Campbell and Grant.
The restaurant has been closed since a fire broke out in early February. Pastiche posted on Facebook that they weren’t permanently closed and that the restaurant just had extensive water damage.
Five months later, the doors are still closed, the signs removed and no one has seen the owner since that fire broke out.
According to the medical examiner’s office, he was stabbed multiple times in the back.
Deputies uncovered League’s body in a burn pile in an area known as “The Pit” in the off-highway vehicle area of BullDog Canyon east of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest.
Investigators said his head and hands were cut off and were next to his legs. The body was burned beyond recognition, and detectives had to use dental records for identification.
After he was reported missing, League’s family told police they noticed somebody was using his debit and credit cards. Surveillance video showed Ruinard using the cards.
After a search warrant was conducted at Ruinard’s house, investigators pieced together the timeline, he was booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder, possessing narcotic drugs, having equipment and chemicals to make narcotics, one count of theft of a credit card, one count of fraudulent use of a credit card, two counts of possessing a weapon by a prohibited possessor and one count of concealing a body.
This is not the first time Ruinard has been behind bars. Court documents show he has an extensive history, he’s been charged with having a dead dog in his backyard, bomb threats, and armed robbery.
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