Using some information gathered by the Hollister Police
Department, the United States Marshals Service last week arrested a
Hollister resident suspected of a 1986 homicide in Centralia,
Wash.
Using some information gathered by the Hollister Police Department, the United States Marshals Service last week arrested a Hollister resident suspected of a 1986 homicide in Centralia, Wash.
Carlos Vidal Guiterrez, 54, is accused of the first-degree murder of Efren Triana on Oct. 25, 1986 outside a tavern in Centralia, Wash. Guiterrez was tracked to the area after authorities learned how he had been arrested in 2005 for driving under the influence of alcohol – and they used forensic evidence tying him to the case.
Guiterrez is accused of shooting Triana multiple times outside a tavern following an argument, said Rick Ploof, a U.S. Marshals Service supervisor.
Guiterrez and Triana were arguing over a woman around 1 a.m. outside the La Adelta Tavern in Centralia, according to reports in the Centralia newspaper, The Chronicle. According to witness reports, Triana was walking away before Guiterrez opened fire, according to the publication. Centralia police released new sketch drawings of Guiterrez last year before the marshals service took over the investigation.
Using fingerprints and other information, investigators were able to track Guiterrez to his Hollister home, said Hollister police Capt. David Westrick. They arrested him Wednesday.
“I’m pretty glad they were able to track the guy down,” said Westrick, who made the DUI arrest in 2005. “It’s good work.”
Guiterrez was a farm worker in Aromas at the time of his arrest, according to a report from the U.S. Marshals Service, and authorities arrested him in an Aromas field.
Guiterrez lived at the 1900 block of Scenic Circle in Hollister, according to information from the San Benito County jail.
He was booked into the jail while awaiting transfer to western Washington. He did not try to flee during his arrest, according to Ploof.
“He was completely surprised,” Ploof said. “He didn’t give us any issues.”
The 24-year-old case was cold before the U.S. Marshals Service picked up the investigation in June 2010, according to the agency’s statement on the matter.
Marshal deputy Leland Rakoz started the investigation after seeing an article of the cold case in a local Washington paper, Ploof said. He got in contact with the Centralia police and started following a paper trail using fingerprints.
At the time, Centralia police had stopped the investigation after exhausting all of their leads, Ploof said.
Two arrests in California in 2004 and 2005 eventually drew the investigation to Hollister, Ploof said.
“All of the information led us to Hollister,” Ploof said.
Marshals contacted the police department early last week, seeking more information on the suspect. Westrick noted how he had conversations with a marshal deputy before Guiterrez’s arrest last week. Westrick gave the marshals local information from the 2005 DUI arrest.
During the 2005 arrest, Guiterrez gave police wrong information, but police had tracked him down because of fingerprints, Westrick said. The fingerprints eventually caught the attention of marshals investigators this year – six years after the original local arrest.
Deputies were able to track down Guiterrez using the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, a partnership program sponsored by the marshals’ office.
The program involves investigators from the Washington’s King County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Vancouver Police Department, Washington State Department of Corrections, the United States Social Security Administration and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
