April 30, 2009

Federal agents, local police team up to capture Mexican triple homicide suspect
Alleged murderer turned over to Mexican authorities

DOUGLAS, Ariz. — A Mexican national wanted in his native country for a drug-related triple homicide was turned over to Mexican authorities here yesterday afternoon after federal and local law enforcement agencies joined forces to arrest him earlier in the day.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took Jose Jesus Guerrero, 38, into custody without incident at a local gas station yesterday morning. Guerrero is accused of kidnapping and murdering one American and two Mexican citizens in Agua Prieta, Mexico, on April 10.

Guerrero's arrest came after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agent assigned to the Cochise County Border Violence Group received information about the suspected murderer's possible whereabouts. Based upon that lead, ICE agents worked with the Douglas Police Department to set up surveillance at the Express Stop gas station on 10th Street where Guerrero was captured a short time later.

Following the April killings, the Mexican government notified the U.S. Marshal's Service that Guerrero was a suspect. The U.S. Marshal's Service, in turn, alerted border law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for him.

“The return of this fugitive to face justice shows how law enforcement agencies in the United States are working with Mexico to combat the drug-related violence and crime in that nation,” said Matt Allen, special agent in charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in Arizona. “As this Administration has said, this is a homeland security issue in which we have a major stake. The Department of Homeland Security's goal in this instance is not only to see justice served, but to protect law abiding citizens on both sides of the border.”

Guerrero is a previously deported aggravated felon with a long history of criminal violations tied to drug and human smuggling in the United States. ICE agents reinstated Guerrero's previous deportation order and notified the U.S. Marshal's Service Mexican Investigative Liaison of his impending return to Mexico. When ICE agents returned Guerrero to Mexico at the Douglas Port of Entry, agents from Mexico's Federal Agency of Investigations (AFI) immediately took him into custody on the outstanding murder warrant.

The binational Cochise County Border Violence Group was formed in 2005 to promote cross-border intelligence sharing and joint efforts to target border crime and violence. Participating agencies include ICE; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Marshal's Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Arizona Department of Public Safety; the Douglas Police Department; the Cochise County Sheriff's Department; and several federal, state and local Mexican law enforcement agencies.

Editor's note: A digital mug shot of Guererro is available by contacting ICE public affairs at (949) 360-3096.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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