Man wanted for murder in Panama turned over by ICE in Southern Nevada


News from Panama / Monday, September 7th, 2015

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A 43-year-old Panamanian man who lived in Clark County and was wanted for murder in Panama has been turned over to his native country, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.

Panamanian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Ricardo Valentino Lee Mc Carthy in March 2004 in the August 2002 fatal shooting of Yira Zaira Alarcon Cerezo, ICE said in a news release. The slaying happened “in the course of a quarrel at the lodgings they shared.”

McCarthy fled the country, where he faced a charge of aggravated murder, a crime for a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, ICE said.

He was sent back to his country with an ICE escort via commercial flight from McCarran International Airport on Tuesday, the release said. Officers turned McCarthy over to Panamanian Judicial Police at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.

McCarthy came to the U.S. in September 2002 on a visitor visa that allowed him to stay in the country for no more than six months.

In November 2013, he was arrested on unspecified charges and booked at Clark County Detention Center, the news release said. He was transferred into ICE custody about four months later.

An immigration judge issued a removal order for McCarthy in July 2014, but McCarthy appealed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied the appeal, the release said.

Contact Cassandra Taloma at ctaloma@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraTaloma