Suspect in ’99 Killing Arrested in Mexico
A man suspected of fatally shooting a visitor to a holiday lights display in Woodland Hills more than four years ago has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge in Mexico, a Los Angeles police detective said.
Police long suspected that ex-convict Carlos Alvaro Beltrani Merino, 36, had fled to his native Mexico after the 1999 Christmas evening slaying of Francisco Javier Hernandez, 24, a construction worker from Winnetka.
Hernandez was shot in front of his wife, young son and horrified onlookers in the Candy Cane Lane area of Woodland Hills.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
