Santiago Mederos: Tacoma double-murder suspect on FBI Top 10 Most Wanted list arrested in Mexico
SEATTLE -- FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Santiago Villalba Mederos was arrested Friday in Mexico in connection with the 2010 death of Camile Love in Tacoma, Washington. He is also accused of killing a 21-year-old man when he shot him on March 25, 2010.
Mederos was accused of killing 20-year-old Love and wounding her 18-year-old brother on Feb. 7, 2010.
“She was my only daughter. I was the first person to hold her when she was born,” William Love previously told Q13 News.
“He just comes from behind us and gets in the lane next to us, speeds up to us, gets beside us and he just started shooting,” brother Joshua Love told Washington’s Most Wanted in 2010. “She wasn’t moving. I grabbed the side of her face and I was like, Cami, Cami. She had a blank look on her face.”
The two innocent victims were not involved in gang activity and police say he targeted them solely because of the color of their vehicle.
On Dec. 2, 2010, Mederos was charged with murder in the first degree, attempted murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree in the Superior Court of Washington for Pierce County, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
“This arrest is result of good old-fashioned detective work and a great collaborative effort with our federal and international partners. Hopefully the families of Mederos’ victims will finally see a resolution for these senseless acts.” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Raymond Duda.
The FBI Seattle Division released the following information late Friday:
"Mederos, aka "Pucho,” was wanted for his alleged involvement in several crimes committed in Tacoma, Washington, in 2010. In February, Mederos allegedly fired multiple shots into a random car, killing a 20-year-old girl and seriously wounding her brother. During a fight in March, Mederos allegedly fired a single gunshot toward bystanders, striking and killing an innocent 21-year-old male victim. Both cases were investigated by the Tacoma Police Department.
"Mederos was charged with multiple counts for both of these crimes in the Superior Court of Washington for Pierce County, Washington, and local arrest warrants were issued for him.
"On September 30, 2016, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Mederos in the United States District Court, Western District of Washington, Tacoma, Washington, after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Mederos was placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list on September 25, 2017."
The FBI said in 2017 it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of Mederos.
His big brother, Jesus Richard Mederos, was also wanted for murder and had also been on the run — until 2018 — when he was arrested in Mexico and brought back to the Pierce County Jail.