For Immediate Release
Contact:
April 15, 2009 Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Bert Tapia
Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force
(714) 338-4646
Captain Bruce McAlpine, Los Alamitos Police Department
(562) 431-2255, ext. 420
USMS Headquarters Public Affairs (202) 307-9065

Man Suspected of Killing his Grandmother Arrested in Mexico

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Marshals announce the capture of Joseph Elias George Ettima, 25, one of the service’s 15 Most Wanted fugitives. Ettima was arrested by Mexican authorities Monday in Mexico City and deported to Los Angeles late last evening.

Ettima was wanted in California in connection with the murder of his grandmother. Along with the homicide charge, he is also wanted for robbery, arson, child endangerment and parole violation.

Ettima is accused of killing his 69-year-old grandmother, Emma Hardwick-Street, on Jan. 19 of this year. Authorities in Los Alamitos believe he set fire to her body and house to cover up the crime, before he fled the area. This crime is particularly heinous in that two young children were in the home at the time of the murder and witnessed the event.

One day after the murder, the Los Alamitos Police Department requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. U.S. Marshals personnel, working with the Los Alamitos Police Department and Mexican authorities, were able to match a description of Ettima with an individual already in custody in Mexico.

“Ettima has a long history of violence, and his latest crime demonstrates a callous disregard for human life that is unimaginable. Capturing him was one of our highest priorities,â€