Crime & Safety
Utah man wanted for 2016 kidnapping, rape arrested in Mexico
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SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah man wanted for kidnapping and rape has been arrested in Mexico after being on the run for nearly two years.
Authorities report 26-year-old Edgar Zepeda was wanted for a 2016 kidnapping and rape in West Valley City. Investigators have been searching for the parole fugitive, also wanted for a separate offense, since 2019 after he was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.
In 2018, Zepeda was arrested and provided a DNA sample to law enforcement, which later matched the unsolved 2016 crime. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and West Valley City Police referred the case to the U.S. Marshals Service and the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.
Over the last 18 months, U.S. Marshal’s and its international partners have worked to locate Zepeda.
In February, authorities identified a possible location for Zepeda. Two months later, on April 27, Zepeda was taken into custody without incident in Ameca-Jalisco, Mexico.
He is now awaiting extradition in San Diego.
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