Suspect in L.A. slaying caught in Mexico, returned to U.S.
With the assistance of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, the Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a man in connection with the March 16, 2017 shooting death of the 23-year-old mother of his child.
In a joint effort with the FBI, Mexican authorities located and arrested Andres Zambrano, 26, in Colima, Mexico, on Friday. He was extradited back to Los Angeles, where he was booked for an outstanding murder warrant, the LAPD reported.
A little after 7:20 p.m. on March 16, 2017, officers responding to a radio call of a shooting in the 11000 block of Towne Avenue located Emma Rodriguez-Estrada suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics rushed her to an area hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Zambrano was accused of shooting and killing Rodriguez-Estrada, the mother of his then 2-year-old child, in front of her home, police said.
Zambrano, now 30, was returned to California on Saturday and turned over to the LAPD, according to the FBI.
FBI agents and LAPD detectives had developed information on Zambrano’s whereabouts and provided it to Mexican authorities in the Colima area, the FBI said.
Based on the investigation by LAPD detectives, Zambrano was charged with murder in Los Angeles and a state warrant was issued for his arrest March 20, 2017, the FBI said. Less than two weeks later, he was charged with the federal crime of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.
His bail was set at $2,050,000, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information Center.
In 2019, the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, the LAPD, the Sheriff’s Department and counterparts in Mexico publicized the cases of a dozen fugitives, including Zambrano, who had allegedly committed crimes in Los Angeles and fled, many to Mexico.
The FBI offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, but it was undisclosed whether anyone will qualify for the reward.
Anyone with additional information about the case was urged to call the LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5111.