Arizona Arrest Spurs Return of Suspect in 1984 Murder

For 16 years, murder suspect Jose DeJesus Acosta eluded authorities by crisscrossing the West and using assumed names.

But his run from the law is over. Arizona police arrested him outside Tucson as he drove a car police said he stole from his girlfriend.

On Thursday, Acosta, 39, returned to Southern California and was booked on suspicion of murder in connection with the May 7, 1984, home invasion and robbery in which a 22-year-old Santa Ana farm worker was shot to death in front of his live-in girlfriend.

Two men were involved in the incident. Jorge Armando Gonzales was convicted of murder in 1985, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Acosta is believed to be the triggerman in the death of Genard Urdiera Fuentes, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna said.

According to police, two assailants entered the Raitt Street home and demanded money. One of them got into a scuffle, and the victim was shot twice. He later died at Fountain Valley Community Hospital.

Authorities got the break they needed when Acosta was pulled over by Tuscon police Aug. 14.

A fingerprint check revealed Acosta’s identity, and officers immediately called Santa Ana police.

“Certainly not all crime is solved through diligent, intensive police work,” Luna said. “Sometimes, we . . . become quite lucky.”

On Aug. 13, Fontana Police Department officers say, Acosta kidnapped, handcuffed and raped his girlfriend of more than 15 years before driving her into the desert.

At a gas station in Indio, Sgt. Ivan Moore said, the woman opened the car door and fell out, handcuffed and duct-taped.

The next day, police in Arizona pulled Acosta over for a traffic violation.