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Mesilla Marshals announced Wednesday afternoon that Oscar Renee Sandoval, accused of shooting his wife on the outskirts of town on April 1, was taken into custody Wednesday and had already been extradited from Mexico to the United States, where he will face a charge of first-degree murder. The defendant was taken into custody in Ciudad Juárez, according the federal agency.
Sandoval, 57, is accused of shooting Sheireen Al Jibury, 39, to death near the intersection of University Avenue and Stanford Street and then driving away from the scene, later abandoning his car on a residential street in Sunland Park, according to charging documents.
Marshal Ben Azcarate said U.S. Marshals took Sandoval into custody at approximately 12:30 p.m. Jail records show that Sandoval, 57, was taken into custody at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry and booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center at about 3:30 p.m.
No details about Sandoval's arrest, such as location or the circumstances in which he was found, were immediately available. As of this story's publication, Sandoval did not appear to have legal counsel, and a court date had not been scheduled.
Azcarate expressed pride in the town's law enforcement agency, consisting of eight certified law enforcement officers, who were assisted in the homicide investigation by Doña Ana Sheriff’s detective Eddie Flores. He also thanked the sheriff's office and federal agencies that assisted with the investigation and search for Sandoval. Flores' temporary assignment to the marshals was concluded as of Wednesday, Azcarate said.
He also addressed prior questions about the crime scene sweep, where evidence was recovered days after the shooting. "The Mesilla Marshals crime scene team and detectives did not go back to the scene three days later," Azcarate said. "The crime scene team and detectives worked the scene extensively since the night of April 1, conducting a crime analysis, searches, diagrams, photography, aerial photography, and searched extensively for any other evidence. ... Sgt. detective Danny Garcia has not slept since the investigation began and has worked, and is still working, countless hours on this case."
Azcarate indicated Sandoval might face federal charges in addition to the state charge of murder, but no criminal complaint had been filed in federal court according to online records Wednesday afternoon.
