A murder suspect from Gainesville who fled to Mexico after the crime is now in custody, awaiting extradition to Georgia.
Authorities arrested Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, in Durango, Mexico, on June 26. State and federal authorities secured his transfer to U.S. custody. He’s currently being held in a California detention facility.
Ayala-Rodriguez is the latest suspect to be arrested and charged with the murder of Rossana Delgado. The 37-year-old taxi driver and mother of two was found dead in Gilmer County on April 20, five days after disappearing in Dekalb County.
“The U.S. Marshal’s Service and the United States Department of Homeland Security have worked diligently to assist the GBI and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office in this case and in this arrest,” says GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles. “The GBI and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office are very grateful for the support and efforts of the USMS, HSI, and all agencies involved in effecting this arrest.
Ayala-Rodriguez is the fifth suspect arrested in the case. Officials are still searching for Carolina Jazmin Rodriguez-Ramirez, 28, Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, both of Oklahoma, and Maria Katherine Chavez Encarnacion, 28, of Marietta, Georgia.
Anyone with information that could help authorities locate them is asked to contact the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-8477, visit their online tip website, or download the See Something, Send Something app.
