SUSPECT IN RIVERSIDE MURDER INVESTIGATION FOUND AND ARRESTED IN MEXICO AFTER 19 YEARS ON THE RUN

Published: 07/24/2024

SUSPECT IN RIVERSIDE MURDER INVESTIGATION FOUND AND ARRESTED IN MEXICO AFTER 19 YEARS ON THE RUN

 

RIVERSIDE, CA – 19 years ago on June 14, 2005, Riverside Police Officers responded to a call of shots fired with a person down at approximately 7:30 p.m., inside a residence in the 4700 block of Doane Avenue in Riverside.  When they arrived, officers found 38-year-old Alfonso Vera suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  Unfortunately, Mr. Vera was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Several witnesses heard the gunshots at the victim’s home and saw people running away.  Two vehicles were also seen leaving the scene after the gunshots and a license plate number from one of them was obtained.

Robbery – Homicide Unit Detectives conducted numerous interviews and determined one of the suspects got into an argument with his girlfriend, then began hitting her.  The victim, Mr. Vera, intervened to protect the woman and was shot several times by another suspect.  The shooter who killed Mr. Vera was later identified as 32-year-old Luis Contreras.

Two of the three suspects involved were arrested by detectives a couple weeks after the murder.  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. 

Detectives believed the shooter, Luis Contreras, fled to Mexico.  In July 2005, an arrest warrant was issued but his whereabouts remained unknown for many years.

In June 2024, the Riverside Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit reopened this investigation with the focus on finding and arresting Luis Contreras.  With assistance from our METRO Team as part of their participation on the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, the search for him began. 

On July 8^th, Luis Contreras was apprehended in Mexicali, Mexico by the Fuerza Estatal de Seguiridad Ciudadana (FESC) International Unit, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals El Centro Fugitive Task Force / Mexico Investigative Liaison Team.  He has since been transferred and booked into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Cois M. Byrd Detention Center while awaiting prosecution.

All members of our METRO team are cross-sworn United States Marshals and work in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force to locate and apprehend wanted violent criminals.  Through this task force, their primary mission is to provide assistance to our detectives with locating violent suspects who flee Riverside to other jurisdictions, but to also help the U.S. Marshals Service looking for fugitives who flee other jurisdictions to ours.

Anyone with additional information regarding this homicide and arrest should contact the Homicide Cold Case Unit at (951) 320-8000 or [email protected]. 

The Riverside Police Department remains steadfast in our commitment to bringing resolution to homicide victims and their families.  For more information about the Cold Case Homicide Unit and other cases still unsolved, visit https://www.riversideca.gov/rpd/about-contact/operations/investigations-division/cold-case-unit.