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Salvadoran murder suspect caught in NJ

January 12, 2006, 1:42 PM EST


MIDLAND PARK, N.J. (AP) _ A Salvadoran man accused by authorities of committing a murder in his homeland was arrested Thursday morning by federal immigration officers in New Jersey.

Rene Hugo Mejia Juarez, 25, was arrested by members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau's fugitive team.

The officers also arrested three other accused illegal aliens during the operation.

Salvadoran police allege that Mejia and an accomplice fatally shot a man on the banks of the Guiscoyolapa River in Canton El Sauce, El Salvador, on July 10, 2001. Authorities in El Salvador said Mejia fired the fatal shot.

Authorities said Mejia is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, commonly known as MS-13. He was charged in this country with illegally entering the United States and will be held pending a deportation hearing.

Midland Park is about 28 miles northwest of New York City.