Suspect in 2008 fatal shooting back in Pasco

Published: March 12, 2011


TAMPA - Four months after his arrest in Mexico, a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Land O' Lakes woman in 2008 has been transported to Pasco County.

Justo Arthuro Moreno-Gonzalez, 49, was booked into the Pasco County Jail late Friday on a first-degree murder charge, records show.

He is accused of shooting Diane Yeager-Lombard, 51, who was found dead on her front porch May 4, 2008.

Investigators said the slaying happened the day before. A neighbor heard gunshots, spotted a truck racing up the street and saw Yeager-Lombard on the porch soon after but thought she was sunbathing.

Just a few days before, Yeager-Lombard had flagged down a sheriff's deputy, saying she was concerned about a Verizon subcontractor who she had been friendly with but who got angry when she rebuffed his romantic overtures.

The man later was identified as Moreno-Gonzalez, described by authorities as an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Moreno-Gonzalez didn't return to work after the slaying and wasn't seen at his last known address in Auburndale.

Detectives said his pickup was found abandoned in a border town in Texas; physical evidence from the truck placed Moreno-Gonzalez at the slaying scene.

A Pasco grand jury indicted Moreno-Gonzalez weeks after the shooting.

In 2009, authorities confirmed he was in Mexico, although he wasn't arrested until November.

Mexican investigators tracked Moreno-Gonzalez to a small town in Mexico where he was working as a soda vendor, authorities said.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in order for Mexican authorities to release Moreno-Gonzalez to the United States.


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