Man Extradited to Mexico for Murder Trial

A 38-year-old San Diego man was extradited to Mexico on Friday to face trial in the 1995 robbery-murder of a U.S. citizen in whose Mexico home he was a house guest, federal officials said.

The U.S. Marshals Service transferred custody of David Lee Clarey to officials with the Mexican federal attorney general’s office at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field. Clarey was to be turned over to officials in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.

Clarey was a house guest at James Bishop’s home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego. In U.S. court papers, Clarey is accused of hitting Bishop on the head with a curtain rod, tying a rope around his neck and binding his hands and feet.

Clarey also is accused of taking 30,000 pesos--currently worth about $3,000--from Bishop’s wallet and stealing his watch before fleeing in Bishop’s car.

Several neighbors heard Bishop calling for help and notified his son, Ralph, who lived nearby. Ralph Bishop found his father lying on the floor covered in blood, officials said.

James Bishop identified his attacker as Clarey to Mexican authorities.

Bishop died about three weeks later of his injuries.

Meanwhile, U.S. officers found and arrested Clarey in San Diego. Mexican officials formally requested Clarey’s extradition.

At an extradition hearing in San Diego in November 1995, Ralph Bishop pointed to Clarey as the man who had been living in his father’s house. Clarey was also identified by a heart-shaped tattoo on his right arm.

Since certification for extradition, however, Clarey’s case has been tied up in U.S. courts because of appeals he has filed.