California

Authorities Seeking Fugitives in a Dozen Unrelated Violent Crimes in LA Area

What to Know

  • All the cases involve murder
  • The oldest case dates to 1993 and the most recent one in 2017
  • In each case reward money is being offered

Authorities Thursday sought public help to find a dozen fugitives who allegedly committed violent crimes in the Los Angeles area in unrelated cases and who are believed to have fled to Mexico.

The suspects are being sought by the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, said Laura EImiller of the FBI.

"Since its inception, the FBI's Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles has arrested over 2,000 fugitives wanted either for crimes committed in Los Angeles who then fled the jurisdiction, or fugitives wanted from jurisdictions outside the state of California who are located in the Los Angeles area," Eimiller said in a statement.

"At any given time, law enforcement in Southern California is seeking hundreds of fugitives, many of whom seek to hide from police by crossing our southern border and, in many cases, illegally entering Mexico to evade capture," Eimiller said.

"Once agents pinpoint the location where the fugitive is believed to be residing, the FBI relies on its counterparts in Mexico to assist in the capture of the suspects," Eimiller said.

In each of the cases being announced, reward money is being offered in exchange for information that leads to an arrest, Eimiller said.

"All of the fugitives being announced today are believed to have fled to Mexico and may be residing there," Eimiller said.

The wanted fugitives:

-- Andres Zambrano, believed to be 28, has been known to use multiple aliases.

He is wanted in the shooting death of the mother of his 2-year-old child on March 16, 2017, in front of her home in Los Angeles.

-- Baldomero Barrientos Banuelos, believed to be 67, is wanted in the stabbing death of his wife on Oct. 14, 1993, in North Hollywood.

-- Carlos Felino Hernandez, believed to be 36 years, is wanted for allegedly shooting two men, one fatally on July 23, 2006, in Pico Rivera.

-- Cesar Soltero Herrera, believed to be 31, has been known to use multiple aliases.

He is wanted in the fatal shooting of a man on Feb. 19, 2007, in North Hollywood.

-- Cesar Villarreal, believed to be 46 years of age, has been known to use multiple aliases.

He is wanted for allegedly shooting two men, one fatally, on May 21, 2010, following a dispute at a store.

-- Manuel Virgen-Galvan, believed to be between 37 and 39, is wanted for his alleged involvement in a killing.

-- Steven Giovanni Aguilar-Medina, believed to be 26, has been known to use multiple aliases.

Aguilar-Medina and his girlfriend, Evelin Martinez, allegedly were involved in a fatal shooting on Dec. 28, 2009.

-- Saul Aguilar, Jr., believed to be 48 years of age, has been known to use multiple aliases.

He is wanted in the fatal shooting of his ex- girlfriend in Los Angeles in December of 1997.

-- Carlos Vasquez Serrano, believed to be 48 years, is wanted in the Feb. 1, 2006, killing of a man in a bar in Los Angeles.

-- Ricardo Villa, believed to be 35 years of age, is wanted in an attempted murder in Hollywood on April 26, 2015.

-- Xochitl Aurora De La Torre, believed to be 40, has been known to use multiple aliases.

She is wanted in the killing of a man on Sept. 10, 2004, in Los Angeles.

Anyone with information on any of the crimes was urged to contact the FBI.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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