A Whittier gang member arrested in Mexico in the nearly decade-old shooting of a local Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was brought back to Southern California Wednesday to face trial.
Emigdio Preciado Jr., who was escorted to Los Angeles County custody by FBI agents, was arrested July 17 in a rural town in Nayarit, Mexico, said Brian Doyle of the Sheriff's Norwalk Station.
Preciado allegedly fired at two deputies, wounding one of them, on Sept. 5, 2000 in South Whittier.
Preciado, who was featured on "America's Most Wanted" several times, is scheduled to appear in Whittier Superior Court on Thursday. A tipster who helped lead authorities to Preciado is expected to collect a $150,000 reward, authorities said.
A few days after Preciado's arrest, the deputy he allegedly shot, Michael Schaap, said he looked forward to Preciado facing justice.
"My day of reckoning's going to be the day that he's found guilty in a court of law, and he's sentenced to life in prison behind bars," Schaap said.
Schaap was lucky to escape the shooting with his life after a bullet went into the bridge of Schaap's nose and exited above his right eye.
Schaap's partner, David Timberlake, was not wounded and Schapp was able to return to work the following year.
Three other suspects in the shooting were arrested around the time of the crime, but Preciado -- the alleged triggerman -- remained at large for nearly a decade.
The shooting occurred after Schaap and Timberlake stopped a suspicious van in South Whitteir.
"When the van came to an abrupt stop, the deputies came under immediate attack from a
burst of automatic gunfire," according to Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman.
"The gunman, one of four occupants traveling in the vehicle, appeared from an open door in the van, according to sheriff's detectives," Eimiller said. "Preciado, an American citizen, was identified as the alleged shooter."
Authorities began tracking Preciado in Mexico the same year of the shooting after a video of Preciado surfaced in December of 2000 showing the suspect dancing in Tepuzhuacan,
Nayarit.
Emigdio Preciado Jr., who was escorted to Los Angeles County custody by FBI agents, was arrested July 17 in a rural town in Nayarit, Mexico, said Brian Doyle of the Sheriff's Norwalk Station.
Preciado allegedly fired at two deputies, wounding one of them, on Sept. 5, 2000 in South Whittier.
Preciado, who was featured on "America's Most Wanted" several times, is scheduled to appear in Whittier Superior Court on Thursday. A tipster who helped lead authorities to Preciado is expected to collect a $150,000 reward, authorities said.
A few days after Preciado's arrest, the deputy he allegedly shot, Michael Schaap, said he looked forward to Preciado facing justice.
"My day of reckoning's going to be the day that he's found guilty in a court of law, and he's sentenced to life in prison behind bars," Schaap said.
Schaap was lucky to escape the shooting with his life after a bullet went into the bridge of Schaap's nose and exited above his right eye.
Schaap's partner, David Timberlake, was not wounded and Schapp was able to return to work the following year.
Three other suspects in the shooting were arrested around the time of the crime, but Preciado -- the alleged triggerman -- remained at large for nearly a decade.
The shooting occurred after Schaap and Timberlake stopped a suspicious van in South Whitteir.
"When the van came to an abrupt stop, the deputies came under immediate attack from a
burst of automatic gunfire," according to Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman.
"The gunman, one of four occupants traveling in the vehicle, appeared from an open door in the van, according to sheriff's detectives," Eimiller said. "Preciado, an American citizen, was identified as the alleged shooter."
Authorities began tracking Preciado in Mexico the same year of the shooting after a video of Preciado surfaced in December of 2000 showing the suspect dancing in Tepuzhuacan,
Nayarit.
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