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For Immediate Release
(print version)

Contact: Ingrid Wyatt
Public Information Officer
(951) 955-5626

MURDER FUGITIVE APPREHENDED IN MEXICO

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, April 5, 2007: District Attorney Rod Pacheco announced today that a fugitive wanted for the murder of a Perris man was returned to the United States from Mexico.

"The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is grateful for the cooperation and efforts of the Mexican authorities in securing Lizarraga's return to the United States. We intend to pursue these fugitives who have fled to other countries to avoid prosecution until every last one has been returned to Riverside County," District Attorney Rod Pacheco said.

Balerio Lizarraga-Millian is charged with the January, 2006 murder of Ricardo Moya Lopez. Lopez was shot and killed by Lizarraga during a heated argument at a residence in Perris. Lizarraga immediately fled the scene in a stolen truck after the shooting, subsequently ending up in Mexico.

Investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit developed leads regarding Lizarraga's whereabouts in July, 2006 and began working with Mexican authorities. Lizarraga was apprehended at a ranch in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Lizarraga is the 33rd fugitive returned to The United States from Mexico this year and the 1st for Riverside County. The Fugitive Apprehension Unit has secured three additional arrests in Mexico since August, 2006. Those fugitives are currently going through the extradition process. The team is headed by Deputy District Attorney Jeanne Roy along with District Attorney Investigators Lodi Clark and Leanard Ortiz and Investigative Technician Margaret Swank. The team is currently seeking to extradite fugitives from Canada as well as from countries in Central and South America.