Cloverdale Murder Suspect to Appear in Court After Extradition from Mexico

By Bay City News Service

A suspect in a 2009 murder near Cloverdale will be arraigned Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Agustin Alvarez Pena, 42, was extradited from Mexico to Sonoma County on Friday. He is suspected of fatally shooting 26-year-old Cloverdale resident Santos Alvarez on Oct. 16, 2009, at a ranch on Cooley Lane in unincorporated Sonoma County north of Cloverdale, Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Carlos Basurto said.

A warrant was issued for Pena's arrest on Oct. 20, 2009, and earlier this year, detectives learned of Pena's whereabouts in Mexico, Basurto said. Mexican authorities arrested Pena on Feb. 11 in Jalisco, Basurto said.

Pena was living in Mendocino County at the time of the slaying. Sonoma County sheriff's deputies responded around 4 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2009 to a report of a gunshot victim in a warehouse designed to store vineyard equipment and machinery, sheriff's Lt. Chris Spallino said at the time. 

Alvarez was found in a vehicle bay near the warehouse that contained processed marijuana, Spallino said.

A witness identified Pena as the suspect, and deputies went to his Potter Valley home where they recovered a firearm, Spallino said. 

Deputies also got a description of Pena's 2001 Nissan Frontier but did not find him or the vehicle.

Pena is being held under no bail and will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

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