In Connection With 1990 Murder and Attempted Murder in Los Angeles County
A former Los Angeles man sought by detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for murder and attempted murder was returned to the United States Friday following a joint fugitive investigation in Los Angeles and Central America, announced David L. Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and Sheriff Jim McDonnell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD).
Santos Lopez Corado, 62, a former resident of Los Angeles and native of Guatemala, was arrested in 2013 in Guatemala following a joint investigation by detectives with the LASD; the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles; and the FBI’s Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force (TAG) in Guatemala. TAG investigators arrested Corado in January 2013 in Jutiapa, Guatemala without incident. He was subsequently transferred to Guatemala City and held by authorities there during extradition proceedings until yesterday.
According to investigators, the LASD conducted an investigation into the murder of an individual associated with Corado and the attempted murder of Corado’s ex-wife in 1990. Detectives identified Corado as the person responsible and determined that he had fled to Central America.
On Feb. 17, 2012, LASD detectives obtained a no-bail arrest warrant for Corado after he was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (LACDA) with murder and attempted murder. When detectives received a tip that Corado had fled the country, the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles was asked to assist in locating and returning him to the United States for prosecution by the LACDA. Corado’s specific location in Guatemala was unknown until LASD Detectives received a tip indicating Corado was driving a mini-bus in Jutiapa, Guatemala.
After Corado was located in Guatemala, the United States requested Corado’s provisional arrest and extradition. Corado was provisionally arrested in Guatemala in January 2013. Officials in Guatemala surrendered Corado for extradition on Oct. 9, 2015.
Corado was escorted to the United States by members of the Fugitive Task Force and turned over the custody of LASD detectives Friday evening after landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute Corado on the state’s charges.
The TAG in Guatemala is assigned to the FBI’s Legal Attaché in San Salvador and is comprised of FBI Agents and police officers with the Guatemala National Civil Police. The FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles is comprised of agents and officers with the FBI; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and the. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Parole Division
Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continue to investigate the murder and attempted murder for which Corado is charged.
Corado’s extradition was handled by attorneys with the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.
