Man suspected in death flees to Mexico
© 2008 The Associated Press
Sept. 3, 2008, 3:17AM

McALLEN, Texas — An illegal immigrant ranch worker wanted in the fatal beating of a young Hispanic man may have fled to Mexico, authorities said.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said Froilan Caseres, 24, a Honduran, is suspected of using a bat early Monday to beat to death Adin Jaret Rodriguez, a Mexican national in his early 20s. Caseres was employed at a ranch owned by state Rep. Kino Flores, who said he hired Caseres without checking his immigration status. Authorities said Rodriguez's body was found in a shed next to horse stables on the ranch. Rodriguez did not work at the ranch and was also in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.

Trevino said Caseres caught a ride to the border and was filmed crossing the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge just before 2:45 a.m. Monday. He boarded a bus bound for Monterrey and another to Mexico City, but Mexican authorities have yet to locate and arrest him.

Flores earlier said that Caseres "was preppy" and "looked the part." Flores said he had "no indication" Caseres was in the county illegally. He said Caseres had only been doing a few days' worth of work on the ranch.

However, it appeared Caseres had been living in a building on the ranch. Flores' son told investigators the man had been there as long as three weeks before the killing, Trevino said.

Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Flores' case had not been referred to ICE as of Tuesday afternoon.

"Issues of worksites and individuals knowingly hiring illegal immigrants is obviously a priority for us," said Pruneda in Tuesday's online edition of The Monitor in McAllen.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5980635.html