A man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend to death in Anaheim in 2017 has been extradited from Mexico after spending nearly eight years as a fugitive, Orange County prosecutors said on Friday, Jan. 9.
Humberto Rodriguez Martinez, 39, returned to the United States early last month and is facing special-circumstances murder charges for the killing of Daniel Reyes, 32, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Martinez is accused of waiting for Reyes outside an Anaheim apartment before stabbing him.
Martinez had been wanted on a $2 million arrest warrant since 2017. Prosecutors have charged him with one count of murder.
Mexican authorities found and arrested Martinez in 2024 with the assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. His extradition involved coordination between that agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and Anaheim police.
Anaheim homicide detectives took custody of Martinez from U.S. Marshals deputies at Los Angeles International Airport.
Because Martinez is a Mexican citizen who was in the country illegally at the time of the killing, authorities said, he must remain in federal custody under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidelines while his case proceeds.
The killing occurred on Oct. 17, 2017, after Martinez and a friend, Adan Zapot-Leyva, went to the apartment of Martinez’s former girlfriend to watch their two children while the woman was at work, authorities said. Although the couple had separated months earlier, they continued to co-parent their children.
After the ex-girlfriend returned home around 8:30 p.m., Martinez and Zapot-Leyva left, authorities said. Reyes, the woman’s new boyfriend, arrived 30 minutes later.
Police were later called to the area of Santa Ana Street and Helena Street after witnesses reported seeing two men chase Reyes and stab him. Reyes died at the scene.
Zapot-Leyva was arrested two days later and in 2023 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Martinez pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Orange County Superior Court and was being held without bail.