PHOENIX — A man wanted in connection to a 2012 double homicide in Phoenix was extradited to the United States from Mexico on Thursday.
Gilbert "Yogi" Villarreal, 34, was wanted by the Phoenix Police Department for the murders of Shiela Lomes and her unborn child, according to the U.S. Marshal's Service.
On March 26, 2012, Lomes was heard screaming for help in her apartment building after being stabbed multiple times. She and her unborn child both died. Her 2-year-old son was found unharmed in the building by police.
Phoenix police identified Lomes' husband, Villarreal, as the suspect and determined that he had fled to Tijuana, Mexico, according to U.S. Marshals.
On April 27, 2012, the Phoenix Police Department began working with the U.S. Marshals Service WANTED Task Force to locate Villarreal.
Between 2012 and 2016, Marshals worked with Mexican authorities to track Villarreal down. In December 2016, he was arrested by Mexican police for attempted homicide of a young woman after stabbing her, Marshals said.
Villarreal spent three years in a Mexican prison and was released in December 2019.
Following his release, U.S. Marshals coordinated with INTERPOL to have Villarreal extradited. He arrived at the Maricopa County Jail on Thursday.
A statement from the U.S. Marshal's Service did not explain why extradition took nearly two years.
Villarreal is facing two counts of first-degree murder.
“The U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona is actively searching for hundreds of violent fugitives who are wanted in the United States and are circumventing prosecution by fleeing to Mexico,” said the United States Marshal David Gonzales. “The arrest of Gilbert Villareal in Cancun, Mexico, was the result of the collaboration between the Arizona U.S. Marshals Service, Phoenix Police Department, INTERPOL, and our Mexican law enforcement partners.”
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