Suspect in death of LA photog nabbed in Mexico 14 years later

Associated Press - June 21, 2007 3:34 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The 14-year hunt for the man suspected in the death of a Los Angeles-based freelance photographer has ended with the arrest of a convicted drug dealer in a Mexican border town.

Los Angeles police have long suspected Rogelio Pereira was driving an 18-wheeler when it crashed into a Toyota Celica driven by 29-year-old Douglas Burrows, who was killed in the May 1993 accident.

Police said Pereira, now 55, fled the crash on foot and remained a fugitive until Tuesday.

Mexican police arrested Pereira without incident in Mexicali, which borders Calexico (California).

Pereira was turned over to Mexican immigration officials, then to US marshals at the border crossing yesterday morning. Pereira was booked later in the day by Los Angeles police for investigation of aggravated vehicular homicide.

The victim's father, John Burrows, never gave up. He lobbied authorities to re-ignite the investigation and hired a private investigator who said he found the suspect living openly in the border town of Brawley.

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