Redwood City detectives closed a 2004 murder investigation after learning Friday that the suspect in the case had been murdered in Mexico, police said.
Heriberto Sanchez, 30, was shot and killed in Jalisco, Mexico on Oct. 29, according to Redwood City police.
Sanchez was wanted in connection with the April 17, 2004, shooting death of Elisondo Mendoza, 18, at the Red Morton Community Activities building at 1400 Roosevelt Ave. in Redwood City.
Police said Sanchez, who was 21 at the time, was at a birthday party there and got into an argument with Mendoza and a second 16-year-old victim and shot them both.
Mendoza died from his injuries and the second victim survived.
Sanchez's common law wife, Ana Cervantes, was also wanted in connection for the killing for handing Sanchez a gun from her purse before he shot the two victims, according to prosecutors.
Cervantes misled investigators about the description of the shooter, his vehicle, and his direction of travel before she fled to Mexico, prosecutors said.
She was arrested in September 2010 when she attempted to cross back into California and was subsequently convicted of being an accessory to murder and sentenced to five years in prison.
-- Bay City News
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