Patterson murder suspect arrested trying to enter U.S. from Mexico

A murder suspect who’s been featured on the Modesto Bee’s Most Wanted list five times since 2012 was arrested trying to enter the United States from Mexico.

Victor Valdovinos, 30, was detained at the San Ysidro entry point on Tuesday. Valdovinos was wanted in the January 2012 shooting death of 19 year-old Jesus Gallardo at Felipe Garza Park in Patterson. Gallardo’s body was found behind the backstop of the baseball field.

Detectives said witness statements put Valdovinos in the park around the time of the shooting. Through further investigation, they developed enough probable cause for an arrest warrant a few weeks after the shooting but Valdovinos fled to Mexico before they could find him.

Valdovinos was returned to Stanislaus County and booked on a charge of murder as well as assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism charges from separate Patterson Police Services investigations.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Patterson murder suspect arrested trying to enter U.S. from Mexico."