A 65-year-old murder suspect wanted for a quarter-century in connection with the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend was extradited from Mexico back to Arizona on Friday, authorities announced.
The suspect, Abraham Rafael Pedroza-Garcia, was brought back to the United States on September 11, 2026, by the U.S. Marshals Service following a multi-year international fugitive investigation. Pedroza-Garcia now faces pending charges of murder, aggravated assault, and burglary in Maricopa County.
According to law enforcement records, the charges stem from an April 1, 2000 double-stabbing incident inside his ex-girlfriend’s Phoenix home. An arrest warrant was originally issued on September 13, 2000, but the case went cold after Pedroza-Garcia fled the country.
The investigation regained momentum in 2023 when the Phoenix Police Department and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office referred the unsolved warrant to the U.S. Marshals Service WANTED Violent Offender Task Force. Using cross-border intelligence, the Marshals’ Mexico Investigative Liaison Team located Pedroza-Garcia living in Mexico in 2024, initiating formal extradition proceedings.
Mexican judicial authorities issued an international arrest warrant in April 2026, leading to Pedroza-Garcia’s physical apprehension by Mexican law enforcement the following month. Under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico Extradition Treaty, foreign fugitives face rigorous legal procedures before being turned over to domestic federal agents.
“This arrest demonstrates the power of persistence and international law enforcement collaboration,” federal officials noted following his transfer to local Arizona authorities.
Pedroza-Garcia was transferred to local custody in Phoenix without incident. He remains held in Maricopa County pending his initial court appearances, where prosecutors are expected to formally present charges related to the 2000 home invasion and fatal attack.
Source; AZ Central
