LV man arrested in 1986 homicide

Jace Radke

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

U.S. marshals arrested a 43-year-old Las Vegas man Wednesday in connection with a 1986 homicide in Southern California.

"We got the tip that this guy was talking about killing his girlfriend in California, and from that we were able to do some research and make an arrest," Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Fidencio Rivera said. "It just shows that all tips are important, no matter how insignificant or old they may seem."

Jesus Farias, who was using the name Martin Martinez, was brought in for questioning by marshals and arrested. He had been living in Las Vegas for 16 years and worked at a local golf course as a maintenance man and landscaper, authorities said.

A marshal and a Metro Police detective teamed to investigate the tip, searching California Department of Justice records for an unsolved homicide involving a woman shot to death in Southern California in the past 15 to 20 years.

When Farias was brought in for questioning he was fingerprinted, and the prints matched those connected to a 1986 homicide in Norwalk, Calif. In 1986 California authorities investigated the murder of a woman found shot to death and left on a side street in Norwalk, but no one was arrested.

Police records state that Farias allegedly picked up the victim and her sister, and dropped the sister off at work. Forty minutes later the victim was found dead, police said.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement records, Farias is an illegal immigrant. Farias was booked Wednesday into the Clark County Jail, and will be extradited to California to face a murder charge.