ARIZONA NEWS

Suspect in 2012 murder of wife, unborn child jailed in Phoenix after extradition

Oct 1, 2021, 11:30 AM | Updated: 11:41 am

Gilbert Villareal (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)...

Gilbert Villareal (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)

(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)

PHOENIX – A man suspected of killing his wife and her unborn child nine years ago is in a Phoenix jail after being extradited from Mexico, authorities said Thursday.

Gilbert “Yogi” Villareal, 34, was taken into custody by Phoenix police and booked into Maricopa County Jail after being returned to the U.S. on Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a press release.

He is accused of stabbing his pregnant wife, 22-year-old Shelia Lomes, multiple times at her apartment complex near 32nd Avenue and Beardsley Road on the night of March 26, 2012.

Police identified Villareal as the suspect and determined that he’d fled to Tijuana, Mexico.

U.S. Marshals worked with Mexican authorities to track Villareal until he was arrested in Cancun for stabbing a woman in the neck in December 2016, according to the release.

He served three years in a Mexican prison for attempted homicide, and then his custody was transferred to Interpol, an international police agency, before his eventual extradition.

“The U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona is actively searching for hundreds of violent fugitives who are wanted in the United States and are circumventing prosecution by fleeing to Mexico,” David Gonzales, U.S. Marshal for the District of Arizona, said in the release.

“The arrest of Gilbert Villareal in Cancun, Mexico, was the result of the collaboration between the Arizona U.S. Marshals Service, Phoenix Police Department, Interpol, and our Mexican law enforcement partners.”

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

An Arizona woman pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars for herself an...

David Veenstra

Arizona woman pleads guilty in fraud scheme that benefited North Korea

An Arizona woman pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars for herself and for North Korea. 

25 minutes ago

A retired deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was convicted of luring a minor i...

David Veenstra

Retired LA deputy convicted of luring a minor in Arizona

A retired deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was convicted of luring a minor in Arizona, authorities announced on Tuesday.

2 hours ago

Man shot in head in Tempe...

KTAR.com

Man shot in head in Tempe trying to drive himself to hospital crashes into vehicles

A man who was shot in the head and attempting to drive himself to the hospital crashed into two vehicles on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

3 hours ago

Mesa Public Schools is planning layoffs....

Kevin Stone

Mesa Public Schools reveals details about how many jobs it plans to cut

Mesa Public Schools, the state’s largest public school district, released new details about its previously announced plan for layoffs.

4 hours ago

Edmund Davis...

Danny Shapiro

Man connected to Alicia Navarro case gets 100-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of children

A Montana man who admitted he was the boyfriend of Alicia Navarro, the Glendale girl who went missing for four years, received a 100-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of children, authorities announced Tuesday.

4 hours ago

$50K winning Powerball ticket sold in Scottsdale Safeway...

Serena O'Sullivan

Powerball ticket worth $50K sold in Scottsdale grocery store

A winning Powerball ticket worth $50,000 was recently sold in a Safeway in Scottsdale, according to a Tuesday Arizona Lottery news release.

5 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Join us for the 52nd annual Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade

The 52nd annual Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe returns on Saturday, December 28, at 10 a.m.

...

Schwartz Laser Eye Center

Don’t miss the action with this game-changing procedure

PHOENIX -- The clear lens exchange procedure has emerged as a popular alternative to LASIK eye surgery.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Why a Heating Tune-Up is Essential Before Winter

PHOENIX, AZ — With cooler weather on the horizon, making sure your heating system is prepped and ready can make all the difference in staying comfortable this winter.

Suspect in 2012 murder of wife, unborn child jailed in Phoenix after extradition