Published: August 27, 2008 10:05 am      

Extradition process continues for alleged Camacho killer

It may take up to six months, but the man wanted in connection with the June 2006 fatal shooting of Gainesville resident Jesus “Chuy” Camacho is set to return to Gainesville to stand trial.

For over two years, Raymundo Delgado Espino lived the life of a fugitive.

He was detained in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico last week, according to Captain Jim Bleything of the Gainesville Police Department.

Camacho died June 11, 2006 after a suspect in a small car pulled close to Camacho’s white Ford F-150 pickup truck and fired a shot as the two vehicles drove down California Street. The bullet hit Camacho in the head.

His pickup veered from the roadway, through a parking lot and into Pecan Creek.

Camacho was pronounced at the scene.

Espino is in the middle of the extradition process, Bleything said.

“He may fight extradition,” he noted. “Or he could agree to come back.”

Mexico’s stance on the death penalty plays no role in Espino’s return to the U.S., he said.

“Espino was charged with a murder, not capital murder,” Bleything explained.

He said he has no way of knowing Espino’s state of mind but as he understands it, Espino walked into a state police facility in the state of Senora, Mexico to turn himself in.

That’s when local officials got the call.

“Mexican authorities contacted the U.S. Marshall Service who contacted us,” he said.

Officials then confirmed that Espino had been indicted for the murder and providing some identifying information to verify that the man in custody was Espino.

The District Attorney’s office is working with the Office of International affairs to coordinate the extradition process, he said.

“My understanding is that it takes approximately two to six months,” he said.

Bleything said he credits the U.S. Marshall Service’s Tuscan, Ariz. office with helping take Espino in custody.

“We really appreciate the Marshall Service, especially Officer Louis Noriega. They’ve been excellent to work with,” he said.

Over two years after Camacho’s murder, Bleything said Espino’s arrest is a relief for many.

“We’re pleased he’s in custody and we’re going to go through the extradition process and get him back here and to trial,” Bleything said.

Camacho’s death was a tragedy in a summer marked by violence including a the Aug. 12, 2006 shooting death of 16-year-old Reymondo Torres Jr. at his home on North Morris Street.

Torres was shot in the head by bullets sprayed at the house in a what a Register story described as “an urban street gang-style drive-by shooting.”