San Diego

An American man who served 18 years in a Mexican prison was released at the border Sunday, only to be jailed again in San Diego because of outstanding arrest warrants in other states.

Henry Kenneth Wangrow, 59, was convicted of murder and narcotics violations in Mexico and spent the last 18 years in a Mexican prison, San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

Shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, Mexican authorities notified the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that they had released Wangrow from prison and intended to deport him via the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Robinson said. Police Officer Rodney Johnson was sent to pick up Wangrow to escort him back to the United States--but when Johnson ran a routine records check on Wangrow, it turned up five outstanding warrants.

Wangrow is wanted in Cook County, Ill., on three felony warrants for burglaries that occurred between 1965 and 1969, Robinson said. In addition, Wangrow had two no-bail federal warrants in 1969 and 1970 from the U.S. Marshals’ headquarters in Arlington, Va. Robinson said he did not know the nature of the federal crimes Wangrow is accused of, but the warrants were issued because Wangrow failed to appear in court.

Both the U.S. Marshals’ office and the authorities in Cook County still want to prosecute Wangrow, Robinson said. Wangrow is being held in the County Jail downtown pending extradition proceedings.