Tag Archive for: San Diego County District Attorney

McLeod

Fugitive Murderer Arrested in Central America

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said today that defendant Raymond McLeod, 37, wanted for the murder of 30-year-old Krystal Mitchell in San Diego, was taken into custody Monday afternoon by El Salvadoran law enforcement authorities without incident. McLeod will be returned to San Diego County to face a charge of murder.

“This defendant’s brazen attempt to evade justice is over and the work to hold him accountable in a court of law for the murder of Krystal Mitchell can now begin,” said DA Stephan. “Huge credit goes to the victim’s mother who never gave up searching for her daughter’s killer and worked closely with our office and other law enforcement to make this arrest possible.”

McLeod confirmed his identity to members of the U.S. Marshals team and members of the U.S. Embassy, who were on the ground with the El Salvadoran local and national police when they took him into custody around 4:30 p.m. (Pacific time). Authorities had received a tip that McLeod had been teaching English at a school in Sonsonate.

Beginning in 2018, the DA’s Office coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service to lead a targeted social media campaign in Spanish and English to encourage tips on McLeod’s whereabouts through Crime Stoppers. The DA placed Facebook and Instagram ads focused on users in Central America and Mexico. McLeod had been spotted in Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize.

The victim’s mother, Josephine Funes Wentzel, is a former police detective has been instrumental in helping authorities search for McLeod. Wentzel has generated leads for law enforcement and helped spread word about the international manhunt on social media.

On June 10, 2016, San Diego police officers responded to a 911 call of a woman not breathing inside of an apartment in the 7600 block of Mission Gorge Road in San Diego. The woman, later identified a Krystal Mitchell from Phoenix, Arizona, was pronounced dead at the scene by medics. Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit responded to the scene and determined that Mitchell was last seen alive with her boyfriend (Raymond McLeod). Mitchell and McLeod, also from Phoenix, had been in San Diego visiting friends.

McLeod fled to Mexico after Mitchell’s death. The District Attorney’s Office charged McLeod with murder in June of 2016 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

DA Releases Annual Report

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today released the DA’s 2021 Annual Report, noting a number of recent accomplishments across many different areas of her office’s mission.

“This report reflects the work of the dedicated DA team of prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and staff working alongside law enforcement and the communities we serve to keep San Diego one of the safest urban counties in America,” said DA Stephan. “We will keep fighting for every child, adult and senior to live safely and with dignity.”

The Annual Report can be found here.

The report includes:

•         a breakdown of prosecutions by crime type

•         high-profile cases in which prosecutors delivered convictions

•         an innovative juvenile diversion program that is restoring the lives of youth

•         the fight to expand reporting of hate crimes and the tripling of hate crimes prosecutions

•         the opening of One Safe Place—the North County Family Justice Center

•         the expansion of mental health services in the county through Crisis Stabilization Centers

•         a re-energized fight against the fentanyl epidemic

•         an initiative to bring down organized retail crime rings

Double Homicide Defendant Sentenced for 1987 Cold Case

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that a 62-year-old man who killed two people at a birthday party in Ramona then fled to Mexico for 32 years, has been sentenced to 34 years-to-life in prison by San Diego Superior Court Judge Joan Weber for the 1987 slayings of German Aviles, 26, and Ventura Aviles, 21.

On May 27, a jury found Jose Solorio guilty of two counts of second-degree murder after deliberating for two days.

“Today, the families of German and Ventura Aviles received a measure of justice after decades of mourning their loss,” DA Stephan said. “The daughter of German Aviles had to grow up without her loving father over this senseless and violent act.”

During a birthday party for the 4-year-old daughter of German Aviles, Solorio got into an argument with the victims and other men over getting more beer for the party. The defendant became offended over an insult directed at him. He left the party and returned with a loaded handgun.

While standing in the doorway of the apartment, Solorio fatally shot German and Ventura Aviles, then shot and wounded another man inside the apartment. He then shot a fourth man outside the apartment who was returning to the home with beer.

Solorio immediately fled to Mexico, where he hid from law enforcement for 32 years. He was taken into custody in the City of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in April 2019 and extradited from Mexico City in December 2019.