A Southside Whittier gang member on the run for nine years is back in Los Angeles County to face trial for shooting at two deputies during a Sept. 5, 2000, traffic stop.
Norwalk Station Deputy Michael Schaap was shot in the forehead while Deputy David Timberlake wasn't injured during the shooting. Schaap underwent rehabilitation and had to learn how to walk and talk again.
Emigdio Preciado Jr.
The FBI brought back Emigdio Preciado Jr. from Mexico on Tuesday, according to Sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker. He said Preciado will be arraigned today in Whittier Superior Court.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Preciado was extradited to the U.S. and handed over to FBI agents at the border in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday morning. The 40-year-old was flown to Los Angeles International Airport under FBI escort in the afternoon. There, he was handed over to sheriff's detectives.
Sheriff Lee Baca said he was very pleased Preciado has been extradited.
"That's a positive conclusion to the old chapter. The new chapter is the trial that will come up and I think that there's plenty of evidence to work with in this case," Baca said.
"And I look forward to what ultimately could be a conviction. And then we could put some closure on this."
The shooting happened on Gunn Avenue, north of Mulberry Drive, in the county area of Whittier. Schaap and Timberlake tried to pull over a 1979 Chevrolet van for a burned-out headlight when Preciado allegedly fired at the two with an AK-47 assault rifle.
Detectives said Preciado was wanted for violating parole. They believe he didn't want to return to prison.
Investigators also think the four men in the van were on their way to commit a drive-by shooting. The three other suspects were later caught.
But Preciado fled to Mexico.
Preciado, who is an American citizen, was on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list when he was caught by Mexican authorities on July 17 in Corral Piedras, a rural area near Yagos in the state of Nayarit, Mexico.
FBI officials said he was using the name Regalo Castaneda-Castaneda and working as a fisherman.
Booking records showed that Preciado was booked at the sheriff's Lennox Station on Tuesday night and his bail is $1 million. It doesn't show what county jail he was taken to Wednesday.
