Fugitive caught during an outbound operation while trying to flee back to Mexico

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Authorities in Las Vegas have begun the process of extraditing a Mexican man wanted for murder, who was arrested May 6, by members of the local Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) as he attempted to flee back to Mexico.

BEST members assigned to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Las Cruces office were conducting a southbound operation at 6:15 a.m. at the Santa Teresa, N.M., port of entry when they encountered a silver 2006 Hummer H2 headed toward Mexico. After stopping the Hummer, the officers referred the vehicle and its three occupants for secondary inspection.

During the inspection, BEST members determined that one of the occupants was illegally in the United States. The other two are U.S. permanent residents. The illegal alien used the alias, Raudel Perez-Neriz, but was later positively identified as Martin Mariscal-Perez of Mexico.

ICE agents discovered that Mariscal-Perez, 28, is wanted by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department for allegedly killing Raymundo Torres in May 2005, by shooting him in the face. Authorities believe Mariscal-Perez then fled to Mexico.

Mariscal-Perez, who is charged with murder with a deadly weapon, is being detained without bond at the Doña Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces while Nevada authorities arrange to extradite him. ICE seized the Hummer because it was knowingly used to transport an illegal alien.

BEST is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE-led national initiative created along the U.S.-Mexico border to respond to a dramatic surge in cross-border crime and violence in recent years. The BEST task force in Las Cruces is one of 15 such teams nationwide.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement