VALLEY CENTER, Calif. -- A Valley Center man suspected in the slaying of his mother in their upscale Valley Center home remained in custody Thursday in Arizona, where he was jailed on unrelated charges within 12 hours of the discovery of the woman's body.

David Leroy Lucero, 25, refused to identify himself when he was arrested in Pima County late Tuesday for allegedly trespassing and causing a disturbance on Tohono O'odham Reservation. The Pima County Sheriff's Department later identified him from a bulletin issued by investigators here.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department put out the wanted-person alert after the body of his 53-year-old mother, Margo Lucero, was found by her husband and daughter Tuesday afternoon in her Costalota Road home.

Hours later, the slain Valley View Casino employee's missing Mercedes was found in southern Arizona.

Two homicide detectives from San Diego traveled to Tucson, Ariz., and questioned Lucero, who is considered a suspect in his mother's slaying, and an evidence technician processed the stolen vehicle for evidence, said sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos.

Prosecutors are still considering whether to charge Lucero with his mother's death, Brugos said.

A relative told a San Diego TV station that on Monday, a member of the victim's family called the sheriff's department to request that Lucero be removed from their house because he was having "mental problems," but that deputies declined to take the man into custody.

Officials have not disclosed the nature of the victim's injuries, though a source close to the investigation described the crime scene as "very bloody."