LOS ANGELES – A confidential tip prompted by the Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s Web site has led to the
arrest in Mexico of a murder suspect, L. A. County Dist.
Atty. Steve Cooley said today.
Cooley said an informant discovered Daniel Perez, 34, was
wanted in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties after
reading information on
www.escapingjustice.com, a Web site that provides
information on murders committed in California by suspects
who have fled to Mexico to hide out.
The arrest of Perez Monday in Mazatlan is the first such
arrest for extradition to Los Angeles since the Mexican
Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 29 that criminal suspects facing
life in prison sentences abroad can be extradited from
Mexico for prosecution, Cooley said.
“Murderers can no longer hide in Mexico to escape justice
in California,” Cooley said. “After the landmark Mexican
Supreme Court ruling in November, we immediately began the
process to start bringing back suspects like Daniel Perez.”
Perez allegedly fled to Mexico in 1999 while he was on
trial for the attempted murder of his estranged wife,
Anabella Vara. Hours after Anabella’s father, Carlos,
testified against Perez, Carlos Vara was fatally shot in his
Fontana home by a masked gunman. Perez, who had been out on
$1 million bail during the trial, failed to appear in court
the following day and was later convicted by a Los Angeles
jury. He was sentenced to 33 years to life plus an
additional life term in prison.
jr
