Tuolumne deputies arrest La Grange-area homicide suspect in Madera County
A suspect has been arrested in the April 3 shooting death of a man at a La Grange area home in Tuolumne County.
The investigation led to 39-year-old Luis Cifuentes being identified as the suspect in the murder of Cayetano Duarte-Perez, 29, at a residence on Highway 132 on April 3, the Tuolumne Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Detectives got a warrant for Cifuentes’ arrest, as well as a search warrant for both his home and vehicle. A “be on the lookout” advisory was sent to Cifuentes’ last known hometown in Madera County and to surrounding counties, the release said.
California Highway Patrol officers in Madera County located Cifuentes and detained him on a traffic stop. Tuolumne detectives went to Madera County and booked Cifuentes there after he refused extradition into Tuolumne County.
An earlier news release by the Tuolumne Sheriff’s Office said deputies went to the La Grange home on April 4 in response to a report of a murder there.
The person who reported the crime was on scene when deputies arrived.
The deputies searched the home and found Duarte-Perez in a bedroom. He had multiple gunshot wounds.
Asked Wednesday about the circumstances of the killing, a suspected motive and whether suspect and victim knew each other, Tuolumne Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Niccoli Sandelin said by text message that “due to the nature of the investigation,” no additional information is being released at this time.
Anyone with information that could help the case is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation division at 209-694-2900.
