Palatine police say accused shooter seized in Mexico

Palatine police on Tuesday announced the capture of a suspect in the April 28 shooting of two teenagers during a drug deal near an apartment building entrance. Police say the shooting was drug-related.

Javier Ponce, 19, of the 1300 block of North Geneva Drive in Palatine, has been wanted on an arrest warrant for two counts of attempted murder.

On July 20, police said, Mexican immigration authorities seized him in Guanajuato, Mexico, and later deported him to the United States. Ponce is being held at the Montgomery County Jail outside Houston, Texas, to await extradition to Illinois.

Police said the teens were standing near the entrance to a building at Baldwin Green Apartments on the 1900 block of North Green Lane when a person walked up to them and began shooting. The shooter ran to a waiting vehicle in a nearby parking lot, authorities said.