Man arrested in connection to 2004 Monterey County murder

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Monterey County Sheriff's Office said a man has been arrested in connection to a 2004 murder in northern Monterey County.

In March 2004, Ramon Villegas was shot and killed during a dispute in the 200 block of Hall Road, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Investigators identified Javier Morales Vaca, who they say is a Norteno gang member from Watsonville, as the suspect in the homicide. In 2005, the Sheriff's Office issued a two million dollar arrest warrant, but found out that Vaca had gone to Mexico.

On Friday, Tijuana police said they stopped Vaca and notified the U.S. Marshals of his arrest. Because he is a U.S. citizen, police turned him over to the Marshals, who took him into custody. He was booked into the San Diego County Jail.

On Monday, detectives with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office went to San Diego to interview him and bring him back to Monterey County. The Sheriff's Office said he had an outstanding warrant out of Santa Cruz County for robbery.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Mike Smith at 831-755-3762 or Det. Sergeant Bryan Hoskins at 831-755-3773.