Opinion
BENJAMIN B. WAGNER, United States Attorney, DANIEL J. GRIFFIN, Assistant United States Attorney, Fresno, CA, Attorneys for Plaintiff, United States of America.
COMPLAINT FOR EXTRADITION
SHEILA K. OBERTO, Magistrate Judge.
I, the undersigned Assistant United States Attorney, being duly sworn, state on information and belief that the following is true and correct:
1. In this matter, I act for and on behalf of the Government of Mexico ("requesting state");
2. There is an extradition treaty in force between the United States and Mexico, 31 U.S.T. 5059; TIAS 9656;
3. In accordance with Article 2 and Article 10 of the extradition treaty, the Government of Mexico has asked the United States through diplomatic channels for the extradition of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ, alias Fernando Mendoza Mendoza, alias "Carmelo."
4. According to the information provided by the requesting state in the form authorized by the extradition treaty, ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ is charged in the State of Michoacán with Homicide, as covered by Article 260 of the Penal Code for the State of Michocán. On October 30, 2001, the Judge of First Instance in Criminal Matters of the Judicial District of Coalcoman, Michocán, issued a warrant for the arrest of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ as part of criminal case number 65/2001.
6. In support of its formal extradition request, the Government of Mexico has submitted statutory and documentary evidence under cover of Diplomatic Note 00869, dated February 14, 2014, Diplomatic Note 00043, dated January 5, 2015, and Diplomatic Note 00610, dated February 3, 2015.
7. According to the documentary evidence, on September 14, 2001, in Coalcoman de Vazquez Pallares, Michocán, ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ shot and killed Juan Diaz Ramirez. The details of the case are as follows:
a. According to a sworn statement made on September 14, 2001, by cab driver Abelardo Chavez Perez ("Chavez Perez"), on that day at approximately 12:20 p.m. in Coalcoman de Vazquez Pallares, Michocán, Chavez Perez was pumping gas at the gas station located near the exit to Tepalcatepec. A man - now known to be DE Juan Diaz Ramirez ("Diaz Ramirez") - approached Chavez Perez and asked him if he could take him to Tepalcatepec Plaza. Chavez Perez agreed and Diaz Ramirez entered the cab to sit in the passenger-side front seat
b. As the cab drove down Avenida Madero, a brown pickup truck with California license plates drove along the right side of the cab and then drove approximately three to five meters ahead of the cab. Chavez Perez recognized the driver of the brown pickup truck as the man - later identified as MENDOZA PEREZ - who ran a beer store on Avenida Madero. MENDOZA PEREZ pulled his truck in front of the cab, got out, and told Chavez Perez to stop. When the cab stopped, MENDOZA PEREZ pulled a gun from underneath his shirt and approached the passenger side front seat of the cab. Chavez Perez stated that the gun appeared to be a black.357 Magnum.
c. When MENDOZA PEREZ headed toward where Diaz Ramirez was sitting, Chavez Perez opened his door and ran away in the opposite direction. As Chavez Perez fled, he heard the sound of a trigger being pulled two or three times, although the gun did not fire. Chavez Perez heard someone say "don't shoot, don't shoot, " and then he heard three gunshots. Chavez Perez ran to a nearby store where he waited for a minute or so. When Chavez Perez returned to his cab, MENDOZA PEREZ was gone, and Diaz Ramirez was slumped on his left side toward the driver's side front seat of the cab. He appeared to be dead. A few bystanders said that the shooter had gone "toward the direction of the hill." According to a police investigative report, the shooter abandoned the brown Ford pick-up truck with California license tags on the scene.
d. Maria del Carmen Ochoa Vazquez ("Ochoa Vazquez"), MENDOZA PEREZ's common-law wife who had known him for about three years and lived with him at the time of the incident, also provided a sworn statement on the day of the shooting. Ochoa Vazquez stated that on that day at approximately 11:00 a.m., she and MENDOZA PEREZ headed to MENDOZA PEREZ's store called the Sala de Gustacion de la Sol located on Avenida Madero. After she and MENDOZA PEREZ finished cleaning up the store, MENDOZA PEREZ said that he would be back shortly and told her to wait for him. Ochoa Vazquez waited for MENDOZA PEREZ for approximately 25 minutes when a boy came running into the store and said that MENDOZA PEREZ shot someone. Ochoa Vazquez closed her store and went to the scene of the shooting. When she arrived, she saw a cab with a dead body inside the vehicle.
e. Ochoa Vazquez also told the authorities that she kept a black.357 Magnum handgun that had belonged to her dead husband in a dresser drawer in her house. When she looked for the handgun after the shooting, it was gone. Ochoa Vazquez identified the brown Ford pickup truck with California license plates that was abandoned on the scene of the shooting as hers, although she said that the car was registered in the name of MENDOZA PEREZ. Ochoa Vazquez stated that a year before the shooting, MENDOZA PEREZ told her that his ex-wife had cheated on him with Diaz Ramirez. MENDOZA PEREZ told her that his uncle saw his ex-wife and Diaz Ramirez come out of the Hotel Coalcoman together.
f. An autopsy report determined that the cause of death was hypovolemic shock and thoracic hemorrhage due to the injuries suffered from the gunshot wounds. Two bullets were recovered from the body.
8. On August 1, 2012, Chavez Perez identified a photograph of MENDOZA PEREZ as the man he knew from the beer store, who shot and killed Juan Diaz Ramirez on September 14, 2001.
9. Homicide is an extraditable offense under Article 2, Paragraph 1, of the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Mexico, and Item 1 of the Treaty's appendix
10. ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ, alias FERNANDO MENDOZA MENDOZA, alias "Carmelo, " is a Mexican citizen. The photograph of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ that was identified by the witness has been provided by the Government of Mexico.
11. ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ is currently located in the Eastern District of California. The United States Marshals Service has detailed location information.
12. Because disclosure of the existence of this complaint and the requested warrant may cause ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ to flee, or may put the arresting officers in greater danger, the undersigned complainant requests that this complaint and the requested warrant be placed UNDER SEAL until the arrest of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ or until further order of the Court.
WHEREFORE, the undersigned complainant requests that a warrant for the arrest of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ be issued in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 3184 and the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Mexico; and that, upon such hearing as is required by federal law, if the Court deems the evidence sufficient under the provisions of the treaty to sustain the charges for which extradition is sought, the Court certify the same to the Secretary of State so that a warrant may be issued for the surrender of ELIAS MENDOZA PEREZ to the appropriate authorities of Mexico. The United States also requests that the Court take such other actions as may be required under the provisions of the treaty and the laws of the United States.
I swear under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.