This happened near my hometown. It is a very small town in southern Indiana.

A man wanted in connection with a deadly 2000 drive-by shooting in Huntingburg is in custody after being arrested on separate charges in Maryland.

Jose "Duke" Hernandez is awaiting transfer from the Prince Georges County, Md. Jail to Dubois County to face charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Cisto Rios.

Rios, 30, was killed as he was standing with his brother in front of his house at 411 N. Main Street on April 18, 2000 in Huntingburg. Police say Hernandez was the gunman in a group of four men who drove around the front of Rios' home and fired a single, deadly shot. Rios was hit in the lower back and died about an hour later at a local hospital.

Hernandez was brought into custody Saturday in Maryland when police responding to a fight found him sitting in a car with a knife hidden under the front seat, according to a press release issued today by the Huntingburg Police Department.

Authorities took note of several tattoos on Hernandez, who at that point told authorities his name was Oscar Alexander Guevarra, and ran the information through a national criminal database.

It returned the Hernandez identity and a suggestion that he was wanted in Indiana. Indiana State Police, the Huntingburg Police Department and Maryland authorities then worked together to confirm the identification and verify he was wanted for the Huntingburg murder.

Hernandez is the third man arrested in connection with the crime.

Milton Prado was arrested shortly after the homicide and is now serving 20 years in Indiana State Prison. A tip in August of this year led to the arrest of Javier Sandoval-Flores, who was caught in Fort Wayne, Ind. after the case was listed on the America’s Most Wanted Web site.

A fourth suspect, Juan Ledezma, is still on the run, police said.

Hernandez is the only one charged with murder while the others are either held or wanted on conspiracy and aiding charges.

All four men are El Salvadoran and have ties to the violent street gang MS-13, according to the press release.

The confrontation that ended in Rios' death reportedly started at a city park after an argument between the men erupted during a basketball game.

The four men reportedly then left the court together and drove to Rios' home. Police say Ledezma drove and Hernandez sat in the front seat with the others in the back when the single shot was fired through a lowered passenger side window.

- Gavin Lesnick


http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/o ... --shooter/