Illinois authorities arrest NM man wanted in 1984 shooting

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico fugitive wanted in the 1984 shooting death of his brother-in-law has been arrested in Illinois, where police say officers responding to a traffic accident that involved the suspect cracked the three-decades-old cold case after running a search on him.

Police said Thursday that Valentin Vasquez, 62, was arrested more than a week ago in Moline, Illinois, and is expected to be extradited to Albuquerque within about a week.

He is being held in Illinois after being booked into the Rock Island County Jail, west of Moline.

Vasquez's arrest came after he got into a wreck and told officers that he didn't have a driver's license, said Officer Tanner Tixier, a spokesman for the Albuquerque police.

The suspect identified himself with a name similar to Valentin Vasquez, and Moline officers looked him up leading them to discover he was the suspect in the March 1984 shooting death of Juan Gutierrez, authorities said.

Vasquez's wife and another man also were injured in the 1984 shooting, according to police.

"Becoming suspicious the Patrol Officers handling the crash continued to investigate what they believed was a fraudulent identity provided by the suspect," said Moline police Detective Scott Williams.

New Mexico online court records show Vasquez faces charges that include an open count of murder and attempt to commit a felony. Bench warrants were issued for his arrest several months after the shooting and again in 1987.

"But he was never located," Tixier sad.

In 1988, police said, Vasquez moved to Moline - part of the Quad Cities, which are situated on both sides of the Mississippi River and the Iowa-Illinois state line.

Tixier said Vasquez had been living in Moline, under an assumed identity, but did not provide further details.

Authorities haven't indicated where Vasquez was living between 1984, when Albuquerque police say he fled their jurisdiction, and 1988, when he moved to Moline.