Winnetka Slaying Suspect Held in Mexico

A fugitive suspected of killing a Winnetka man who lived with the suspect’s former girlfriend and kidnaping his 3-year-old son was arrested Thursday in Mexico, police reported.

Jose Luis Lopez Barajas was arrested on suspicion of killing Jose Carlos Rodriguez and kidnaping his son, Freddy Lopez, in Winnetka, according to Detective Malena Heissel of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Barajas was arrested without incident at the home of his brother in Guadalajara by Mexican federal agents on a murder warrant obtained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to Heissel. Barajas’ son Freddy was found at the residence and turned over to his mother, Matilda Medina, Heissel said.

On June 2, Barajas and another man broke into the Winnetka apartment that Medina--Barajas’ former girlfriend--shared with Rodriquez and her three children, Heissel said.

The other man shot and killed Rodriguez with a semiautomatic pistol while Barajas grabbed Freddy, Heissel said. The two men then ran from the apartment and sped off in a car driven by a third person, according to Heissel.

After obtaining the arrest warrant, Los Angeles police traveled to Mexico City, where formal murder charges were filed against Barajas. Barajas, who is a Mexican citizen, will be tried in Mexico for the slaying, Heissel said. Mexican law authorizes the country’s courts to try Mexican citizens in Mexico for crimes committed in other countries.

Police are still attempting to identify the other two people involved in the killing, Heissel said.