Task Force Locates, Captures Suspect in 17-Month-Old Case

SAN BERNARDINO – Police chased down a suspect in a 17-month-old murder case on Tuesday night, as a local task force recognized the man who was thought to have committed a murder in August 2010.

Santiago Orozco was arrested after a high speed chase

Santiago Orozco, 22, reportedly shot Alejandro Chavez, 23, during an argument that took place in the 1200 block of Rialto Ave early in the morning on Aug. 7, 2010. Chavez died at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton later that day. “He fled the scene,” said Sgt. Gary Robertson, “and hadn’t been located since the incident.”

Members of the Inland Regional Apprehension Team Task Force, said Robertson, had been aggressively seeking to solve the case “in order to locate and arrest Orozco.” Robertson said SBPD received information that Orozco, who had been a resident of nearby Highland, was in the San Bernardino area. Members of IRAT spotted him in a vehicle.

Uniformed officers attempted to stop that vehicle, but Orozco refused to pull over and led police on a high speed pursuit. It last for several minutes, going through downtown San Bernardino and onto the westbound side of Interstate 10. The suspect stopped his vehicle in Colton and was taken into custody without further incident. Police said no one was injured in the pursuit.

The District Attorney’s office had reviewed the case and filed one count of murder against Orozco, who is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Chavez was shot at 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 7 and was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. Police have not said where Orozco had been for the 17 months since the shooting.

Read More:

KTLA.com: 2010 San Bernardino Homicide Suspect Arrested

Instant Riverside.com: Fugitive murder suspect arrested in Colton after high-speed chase