GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A suspect in a 2005 homicide has been extradited from Mexico and is now in custody in Grand Rapids.
The Grand Rapids Police Department says the extradition process for Ricardo Fabela Jr. that started in 2019 has been completed.
Fabela and Miguel Vidana were identified as suspects in the murders of Edgar Lopez and Dipakkumar Patel.
Lopez and Patel were found murdered at a home on Buchanan Avenue SW on February 13, 2005.
Grand Rapids police issued warrants for the arrest of Vidana and Fabela, but both men fled the area.
Vidana was arrested in El Paso, Texas, on November 19, 2007, and extradited to Grand Rapids. He was convicted and is currently serving his prison sentence.
Grand Rapids police say statements made from Vidana indicated Fabela was last seen in Zacatecas, Mexico. Police in Zacatecas were granted a provisional arrest warrant on August 23, 2013 for Fabela.
According to Grand Rapids police, Fabela was arrested in Mexico on April 10, 2019, and the extradition process started.
Fabela was returned to Grand Rapids in the custody of FBI agents on April 27, 2022, and was brought to the police department for questioning.
He is now lodged in the Kent County Jail awaiting trial.
“This is an example of the determination of GRPD detectives and the partnership between local, federal, and international law enforcement to see an investigation through no matter how long that takes,” said GRPD Chief of Police Eric Winstrom.
“Ricardo Fabela’s extradition brings a criminal to justice and reaffirms our partnership with the Grand Rapids Police Department,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The long arm of the law reaches farther with every successful extradition to and from the United States, as we work with our partners around the world to make sure criminals cannot find safe haven from justice.”
