Man killed dad of 4 then spent 2 decades on the run, CA cops say. Now, he’s arrested
Nearly two decades after a father of four was fatally shot protecting a woman from her boyfriend, a suspect has been arrested, California police say.
Luis Contreras, 50, was arrested in the fatal 2005 shooting of Alfonso Vera after spending “19 years on the run,” the Riverside Police Department said in a July 24 Facebook post.
Officers arrived at a Riverside home the evening of June 14, 2005, to find Vera shot multiple times, police said.
Witnesses told police they heard gunshots coming from the home and people running.
Detectives learned one of the suspects started hitting his girlfriend during an argument, police said.
Vera tried to “protect the woman” and was shot by another person, later identified as Contreras, the department said. Vera was pronounced dead on scene, according to police.
Two cars drove away from the home, police said, adding that they were able to get a license plate number for one of the cars.
Within weeks of the shooting, two of the suspects were arrested, the department said.
“One was charged with accessory to murder and received a 3-year prison sentence, while charges were not filed on the second suspect due to lack of evidence,” police said.
Contreras, however, was not caught, according to police.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in July 2005, police said.
Detectives believed he may have fled to Mexico, “but his whereabouts remained unknown for many years,” police said.
Police said its cold case unit reopened Vera’s case in June.
With the help of the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, police said it began searching for Contreras, who was apprehended in Mexicali, Mexico, on July 8.
He was booked into jail on July 11 on a second-degree murder charge and is expected to appear in court on Aug. 2, online jail records show.
Vera, a father to two daughters, a son and stepson, spent most of his life in Riverside and “was the owner/operator of Al and Son,” an automotive shop, according to his obituary.
This story was originally published July 25, 2024 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Man killed dad of 4 then spent 2 decades on the run, CA cops say. Now, he’s arrested."
