Cross-border cooperation leads to arrest of three fraternal
fugitives wanted for murder in Mexico
Hollister – Federal Marshals arrested two fugitive brothers in Hollister Monday night who stand accused of slaying a man in 1996 during a wedding party in Mexico.
United States Marshals, working with agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, arrested the two homicide suspects – Hector Alvarado-Romero, 38, and Rafael Alvarado-Romero, 49 – shortly before 8pm Monday, according to U.S. Marshal Public Affairs Officer Zareen Iqbal. A third brother, Gustavo Alvarado-Romero, 36, believed to have been involved in the decade-old murder, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in San Jose, she said.
Hector Alvarado-Romero was arrested at the Safeway parking lot in Hollister. Rafael Alvarado-Romero was arrested at a home on Cypress Street moments later. A third brother, Gustavo Alvarado-Romero, was arrested in San Jose an hour later, according to Iqbal.
Mexican authorities have been searching for the trio since 1997, when the Alvarado-Romero brothers were accused of shooting a man in Michoacan, Mexico. The brothers allegedly went to a wedding party on Dec. 21, 1996 and forced the victim away from the party, Iqbal said. The victim, who has not been identified, was later found dead suffering from multiple gun shots wounds. Iqbal said there may have been “poor relations” between the two families at the wedding, but was unsure of a motive for the murder.
The three brothers fled Mexico in 1997, after warrants were issued for their arrest. They have been running from the law ever since, Iqbal said. Both Hector and Rafael Alvarado-Romero were living and working in Hollister, but did not know exactly what they had been doing for the last nine years. All three brothers have legal status to work in the U.S., she said.
All three men are being held at the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose awaiting extradition. The U.S. has an extradition treaty with Mexico, where the three men will likely face trial, according to San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield. Though Sarsfield is not involved with the case, he is familiar with Mexican law. Mexico does not have a death penalty.
