A man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Riverside was captured in Mexico this month after 19 years on the run, according to authorities.
Luis Contreras, 51, faces prosecution in California for the 2005 slaying.
Luis Contreras, 51, was recently arrested in Mexicali, Mexico.
(Riverside Police Department)
On the evening of June 14, 2005, Riverside police responded to a home in the 4700 block of Doane Avenue where shots were fired, injuring one person, according to a police statement.
When police arrived, they found 38-year-old Alfonso Vera suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Vera later died from his injuries.
At the time, several witnesses said they heard gunshots inside the residence and saw people fleeing the scene in two vehicles. The Riverside Police Department later obtained license plate information for one of the vehicles.
After multiple interviews, Riverside Robbery and Homicide detectives determined that one of the suspects got into an argument with his girlfriend and then began beating her.
Authorities said Vera stepped in to protect the woman and he was shot.
Detectives arrested two people weeks after the killings. One of them was charged with accessory to murder and sentenced to three years in prison, but the second person was not charged due to a lack of evidence, authorities said in a statement.
The names of the men have not been released.
Detectives at the time identified Contreras as the suspected shooter and said they believed he fled to Mexico after the shooting. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but his whereabouts remain unknown.
The Riverside Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation last month with the goal of finding Contreras. They did this with the support of a U.S. Marshals Task Force dedicated to finding and apprehending wanted violent criminals fleeing the Riverside area.
Contreras was arrested on July 8 in Mexicali, Mexico, by the International Force of Urban Security Forces in coordination with U.S. Marshals.
Contreras has since been booked into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Detention Center.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Homicide Cold Case Unit at (951) 320-8000 or HomicideColdCase@RiversideCA.gov.
