RENEE RONTAL and NANCY RUBIA - 13 yo (1982) - Stockton CA

With Alfredo Reyes Reyes sitting in a Tijuana
jail, U.S. officials next face the challenge of winning his extradition
from Mexico so prosecutors can put him on trial for murder in a Stockton courtroom.
Until that happens, a saga
spanning two countries and nearly 30 years of searching is suspended in
the uncertain realm of international diplomacy.
Reyes, a 51-year-old Mexican citizen, was arrested May 27. Officials say he
and a second man raped and murdered Renee Rontal and Nancy Rubia, both
13-year-old girls from Stockton, on Jan. 25, 1982.
San Joaquin County prosecutors, with the help
of federal officials, have 60 days from the date of his arrest to file
their extradition request with the Mexican government. That puts their deadline at July 27.
Federal authorities declined to talk about the case, and no one could estimate how long it
might actually take to get Reyes back to the United States.
The central issue is California's system of capital punishment, something Mexico abolished in 2005.
San Joaquin County prosecutors already have said they will give up the
option of seeking a death sentence, a decision they said was difficult
but unavoidable if they expect Mexico to grant them custody.
That was a wise first step, said Mark Warren, a Canadian researcher who
specializes in international capital-punishment litigation.
"Otherwise, justice will be delayed yet further, if ever," he said.
Any balking by prosecutors over the death sentence would halt extradition
negotiations, he said. Reyes could complicate the situation himself by
fighting extradition, citing any flaws in the legal process, Warren said.
Officials here also worry that even high-profile suspects have been able to skirt justice by bribing their way to freedom.
According to the official procedure, Mexico requires proof from prosecutors that
the person being sought is the actual suspect in the crime along with an
outline of the charges and supporting evidence, Warren said.
"There's a little more involved than 'I promise, scout's honor,' " Warren said. "Countries take this very seriously."
Once Mexican officials feel the terms of an extradition treaty are met,
Warren said that Mexico routinely fulfills such requests and turns over suspects.
In fact, extraditions from Mexico to the U.S. are on the rise in recent years, said Arizona attorney Gregory Kuykendall.
Kuykendall is the director of Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program, funded by
the Mexican government, which ensures its citizens charged with capital
crimes in the U.S. receive proper legal representation. He was not
directly knowledgeable of Reyes' case.
The increase in extraditions arises from the Mérida Initiative, a $1 billion
effort Congress funded in 2008 to bolster national security agencies in
Mexico and other Latin American countries in their fight against drug traffickers.
This initiative has had a direct impact on U.S.-Mexican diplomatic relations, Kuykendall said.
"There is a great deal of cooperation of law enforcement on both sides of the border," he said.
San Joaquin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Freitas said the
gruesome nature of the crimes would have made Reyes eligible for a death sentence.
Freitas said his office will pursue
the next best option - putting Reyes in prison for life without the
possibility of parole. Freitas' main concern is bringing Reyes to justice.
Papers on file at the San Joaquin
County Superior Court charge Reyes with two counts of murder and the
special circumstances accusing him of committing multiple murders, rape
and lewd and lascivious acts on a child.
Reye's co-defendant, Antonio Espinoza, received a death sentence in 1986 for
the crime. Officials believe the two girls got into the car with Reyes
and Espinoza the night they died.
Sheriff's detectives arrested Espinoza at his apartment in Stockton on Nov. 28, 1983, nearly two years after the murders.
In a statement to investigators shortly after his arrest, Espinoza blamed
Reyes for both murders. Reaching the Delta island, Espinoza said he and
Nancy paired off for consensual sex.
Espinoza said he soon heard Reyes call out to him, leading him to Renee's body.
"Renee's throat had been cut," according to Espinoza's statement outlined in
court papers. "Reyes then killed Nancy, despite (the) defendant's efforts to stop him."
Despite deflecting culpability, Espinoza was convicted of both murders and condemned to die.
Today, at 50, he remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison. His
attorneys continue to appeal in a Sacramento federal court.
Prosecutors want to put Reyes in prison for life and finally close the file.
After negotiating his extradition, Freitas said the next challenge will be
prosecuting such an old case. Some witnesses have died in the last 29
years, while those still living may have faded memories of what they saw
and heard. Yet it won't be entirely uphill,
Freitas said. Prosecutors have the advantage of referring to 18 boxes of
transcripts, documents and evidence from the yearlong trial that won
Espinoza's conviction, he said.
Forensic science - the use of DNA and trace evidence analysis - has advanced,
which Freitas said will only help in Reyes' prosecution.
"There are some things that have improved over the last 30 years," Freitas said.


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