A convicted assassin who escaped from California corrections custody final yr is believed to have killed the chief of an elite Mexican police unit charged with discovering and arresting fugitive People, officers stated.
Authorities stated the unit – referred to as “Gringo Hunters,” which dedicates itself to arresting U.S. suspects who’re fugitives in Mexico – was attempting to arrest a suspect within the northern Mexican border metropolis of Tijuana when the person opened fireplace, hitting and killing 33-year-old Abigail Esparza Reyes.
Esparza Reyes was the pinnacle of the unit on the northern border state of Baja California.
Whereas authorities didn’t identify the suspect, local media recognized him as Cesar Hernandez, who officers in California stated escaped custody in December throughout a switch to courtroom.
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Hernandez, 34, was convicted of first-degree homicide and sentenced to 80 years to life in jail, in keeping with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was on his technique to Kern County Superior Courthouse for an look earlier than a decide on Dec. 2, when he jumped out of the van and evaded employees.
Months later, on April 9, the so-called “Gringo Hunters” police unit caught as much as him in Tijuana, Mexico after receiving stories that he was in a house there, CBS affiliate KBAK reported.
A shootout erupted and Esparza Reyes was fatally shot whereas Hernandez managed to flee from the scene.
Mexican information shops, together with El Universal, reported that video surveillance confirmed Hernandez managed to flee whereas working virtually bare via the streets earlier than ducking underneath a tarp that was overlaying a car. He emerged wearing a fluorescent inexperienced uniform – much like ones utilized by native site visitors police – earlier than strolling away. Hernandez stays at massive and a manhunt is underway.
Marina del Pilar, the governor of Baja California, posted a message on social media providing her condolences for Esparza Reyes’ dying.
“To the household and family members of Officer Abigail, we acknowledge your bravery and dedication within the service of your state,” she stated. “Abigail’s life can be honored, and her dying is not going to go unpunished.”
Esparza Reyes had led the regional workforce of the unit for eight years, finishing up greater than 400 operations geared toward arresting U.S. fugitives who had fled to Mexico, Reuters reported, citing Mexican authorities.
In keeping with a profile on the group by the Washington Post, Esparza Reyes grew up in Tijuana and secretly needed to be a police officer.
The U.S Marshals, who have been within the space of the sting however “not concerned within the capturing,” stated in an announcement its brokers helped render help to Esparza Reyes earlier than she died from her accidents.
“We mourn her loss alongside together with her household, associates and colleagues,” the assertion stated, in keeping with KBAK. “We are going to proceed to help our worldwide companions with the related investigations. Those that commit violence towards legislation enforcement officers can be held accountable.”
