SANTA ANA, Calif. – A fugitive facing a life sentence for attempted murder has been arrested in Southern California nearly two decades after escaping from juvenile hall.
The Orange County district attorney's office says 36-year-old Baldomero Johnny Diaz was arrested Wednesday in Riverside County.
Diaz was convicted in 1990 of six counts of attempted murder for a drive-by gang shooting in Santa Ana in 1989.
He escaped from juvenile hall by climbing through a hole in a fence. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison six weeks after his escape.
Prosecutors say they began investigating Diaz last month and learned he was arrested twice in San Diego County under aliases in the last decade.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox