12 Years a Fugitive: North Bay Murder Suspect Finally Captured

NORTH BAY, CA -- Officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, have apprehended a man who was wanted on suspicion of a 2005 killing in Sonoma County.

Just after dawn on Feb. 22, Santa Rosa police officers, FBI agents and Shasta County sheriff's deputies arrested Ricardo Puentas in rural Shasta County after surrounding the home he was in and demanding his surrender, according to police.

Puentas initially refused to come out and picked up an infant child while barricading himself inside.

After about ten minutes talking with SWAT officers through an open window, Puentas came outside and was arrested without a struggle, according to police.

Santa Rose police say they've been looking for Puentas for 12 years and have pursued hundreds of leads regarding his whereabouts.

Police believe Puentas shot 27-year-old Semere Haile Girmai several times at an apartment on Hoen Avenue over drugs and a gang dispute.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Santa Rosa police