Tijuana municipal police arrested a 50-year-old man known as “El Tío” late Wednesday night in the Libertad neighborhood, linking him to a fatal shooting that took place three days earlier in the Empleado Postal area of the city.
Officers stopped El Tío’s gray, older-model Honda Accord on Boulevard Cuauhtémoc. The vehicle carried California license plates. Inside the center console, police found a loaded 9mm pistol with 10 rounds, according to the arrest report.
Shooting Victim Died at General Hospital
The arrest stems from a homicide that occurred Monday, April 20, at approximately 4 p.m. A man between 30 and 35 years old was shot at a home in the Empleado Postal neighborhood, near Unidad Deportiva Reforma, a well-known sports complex in central Tijuana. The victim was transported to the General Hospital of Tijuana, where he later died from his injuries.
Investigators connected El Tío to the killing and tracked his movements through the Libertad district, a dense residential and commercial neighborhood located west of downtown Tijuana. Boulevard Cuauhtémoc, where the traffic stop occurred, is one of the area’s main corridors.
California Woman Also Taken Into Custody
El Tío was not alone at the time of his arrest. A 38-year-old woman from California, identified only as Annalisa, was riding in the vehicle. Both were detained and turned over to the FGR (Fiscalía General de la República), Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office, on charges of illegal firearms possession.
Under Mexican law, possessing an unregistered firearm is a federal offense that carries prison sentences of up to 15 years, depending on the caliber and circumstances. The 9mm pistol found in the Honda is classified as a restricted weapon in Mexico. Firearms charges are typically prosecuted at the federal level, while the homicide investigation would fall under Baja California state jurisdiction.
The arrest comes as Tijuana police continue targeted operations against known homicide suspects across the city. Libertad and the surrounding neighborhoods near Boulevard Cuauhtémoc see regular police patrols and checkpoints, particularly after dark.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.