Man Charged With Tustin Shooting Extradited 15 Years Later

TUSTIN, CA — He was living as a fugitive on the run for 15 years after being charged with shooting a man over a financial dispute. Juan Palacios, 59 of El Salvador, is now scheduled to make his first court appearance on June 1 since being extradited back Orange County last week, Tustin police Lt. Bob Wright said.

Palacios is accused of fatally shooting 32-year-old Mario Cano Santamaria on Jan. 5, 2003, Wright said. According to reports, Palacios went to Santamaria's apartment complex with a group of other people, got into a squabble over a $60 dispute, the Orange County register originally reported. That financial issue led to Palacios gunning Santamaria down, cops say.

When Palacios disappeared, the case went cold. Tustin detectives have a policy of checking up on cold cases at least once a month, and it paid off in this case as authorities tracked the suspect to El Salvador, Wright said. In 2014, El Salvador was asked to extradite Palacios, who was arrested in December 2016 and had been fighting extradition since then.

Santamaria's family was "happy" and "relieved" to hear of Palacios' arrest, Wright said.

In 2004, officials charged Palacios with one count of murder. If convicted, he would face at least 25 years to life in prison, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Renee Schiavone, Photo