Tattoos Help Huntingburg PD Nab Murder Suspect
By: Andy Schroeder
Updated: October 2, 2007
Huntingburg Police say tattoos helped them catch a murder suspect on the run for seven years.
Jose Hernandez is a native of El Salvador and is believed to be the trigger man in an April, 2000 drive-by shooting.
Huntingburg police say Hernandez and three other Salvadorans had a confrontation at a basketball court with two Mexican men.
The argument turned deadly when the Salvadorans tracked down the Mexicans and allegedly shot Cisto Rios on the porch of a house.
Rios died in the attack and police spent the next 7 years looking for Hernandez.
Investigators in Maryland thought they might have Hernandez in custody this weekend, and Huntingburg Police e-mailed photos of his tattoos to see if they matched.
"There was a corporal out there," Sgt. Christian Gogel said, "she said, this is the guy!"
Hernandez is facing weapons charges in Maryland.
Theres no word on when he might be returned to Indiana to face murder charges.
