Man arrested in connection with 2006 shooting at Costa Mesa quinceañara
A man was arrested nearly two decades after a deadly shooting at a quinceañara in Costa Mesa last week.
The suspect, Pedro Gallegos-Garcia, 46, was arrested in Mexico and extradited on Thursday for his role in the incident, which happened back on Feb. 11, 2006, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
He was charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the use of a firearm in connection with the killing of 21-year-old Hermes Rodriguez-Raya.
Gallegos-Garcia was arrived at the Orange County Jail on Friday, court records show. He was initially scheduled for arraignment on Monday, but that hearing has been rescheduled for Aug. 8 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, prosecutors said.
Investigators say that Gallegos-Garcia was a suspect in the shooting after a fight broke out at the party, which was going on in the 2000 block of Wallace Avenue.
According to prosecutors, Rodriguez-Raya had gotten into a fight with another man, and Gallegos-Garcia attempted to intervene, pointing a gun at the victim and firing. They say that the weapon initially failed to fire.
Later, as Rodriguez-Raya ran from the scene, the suspect opened fire, shooting him in the back and killing him, prosecutors claim.
"No one is above the law and no matter how hard a wanted killer tries to evade the long arm of the law, justice will be carried out," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "The men and women who have dedicated themselves to solving crime and holding killers accountable will not rest until they have their man. Nearly two decades of unwavering detective work has resulted in the apprehension of a wanted murderer and as a result of the collaborative efforts of the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, the FBI, the Costa Mesa Police Department, and the Mexican authorities, the loved ones of Hermes Rodriguez-Raya can finally have their day in court."
