Suspect of killing 8 Mexican official captured

SAN FRANCISCO - A man suspected of killing eight Mexican government workers 13 years ago has been captured in California and deported to Mexico, a US official said on Wednesday.

US Marshals on Tuesday arrested Genaro Olaguez, 53, at a relative's home in Sacramento on suspicion of gunning down a commissioner and seven other city officials in Sinaloa, Mexico, on May 2, 2000, said Deputy US Marshal Frank Newsom.

Four other people were seriously injured in the attack, which occurred when those shot were traveling in a vehicle, Newsom said.

The US Marshal's office could not immediately provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the slayings or a possible motive for the attack. "We are very thin on information that is provided to us," Newsom said.

Before he was deported to Mexico on Wednesday, Olaguez had been booked into Sacramento County Jail, said Sergeant Lisa Bowman of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Mexican authorities will take over the investigation and prosecution in the case, she said.

Following the slayings in 2000, the Mexican government asked the United States to help track Olaguez down, Newsom said. He did not say how authorities were alerted about where to find Olaguez.

A Mexican national, Olaguez also has an outstanding warrant in San Joaquin County, California, for cultivation of marijuana and utility services theft. He is believed to have been living with family in California's capital, Newsom said.

Newsom said he did not know if Olaguez was suspected of having ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel.

The powerful Mexican drug cartel, led by Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has been fighting a brutal war with other gangs over turf and drug-trafficking routes to the US.