Border Patrol agents in Rio Grande City on Monday detained a 59-year-old man after learning he had a warrant for fatally shooting a Rio Hondo man nearly 26 years ago.
A press release from the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office said Benito Barrera Martinez is in custody on a charge of murder.
Border Patrol detained him as he attempted to enter the country illegally, according to the release.
Martinez is accused of killing 29-year-old Martin Villarreal on June 30, 1997. His body was found in a rural area on Nelson Road, south of FM 1561.
Investigators believe the murder was drug related, the release said.
Martinez was initially indicted in 2006 and was jailed, but later released when the case was dismissed.
Investigators obtained new evidence in 2014 and charged him again, but this time he fled to Mexico, according to the release.
He is being held on a $200,000 bond, jail records indicate.
