Colorado man wanted in homicide nabbed at port

A Colorado man wanted in the death of an onion field worker 15 years ago was arrested Tuesday by Customs and Border Protection officers as he tried to enter the country through the pedestrian lane at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis.

According to Teresa Small, a supervisory CBP officer, Consuelo Zavala, 35, who is an American citizen, was selected for additional questioning when officers noticed something unusual about an identification document he was using.

“There was some reason to doubt his identification so officers referred him on that basis,” Small said.

Small said a routine records check revealed that Zavala had a warrant out of Weld County, Colo., so he was arrested and turned over to the San Luis Police Department for extradition.

Zavala, according to an article in the Denver Post, is accused of shooting Francisco Gasca, 28, eight times on Aug. 25, 1997.

Small added that CBP has arrested more fugitives wanted on warrants than any other law enforcement agency.