A man who fled the U.S. after being accused of shooting his wife in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1997 was arrested in El Salvador and extradited to Montgomery County on Thursday.
In a release, Montgomery County police said Jose Mauricio Rivera, 58, was extradited to Montgomery County on Dec. 5 and was charged with second-degree attempted murder and two counts of first-degree assault.
On Oct. 9, 1997, shortly after 9 p.m., Rivera confronted his then-estranged wife Mirtilla Alas in the elevator of her apartment building in the 8100 block of Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring. Officials said he shot her multiple times.
Charging documents revealed they had separated after allegations of domestic violence andas Alas had a restraining order against Rivera. Alas and Rivera shared three children but she did not disclose to him where they lived.
Rivera reportedly called Alas’ sister-in-law Nimia Vanega after the shooting and said, “I just shot Mirtilla … I hit her good, I think she’s probably going to die.”
Alas was transported to a hospital for treatment for the gunshot wounds and was later released.
With assistance from the FBI Baltimore Field Office, El Salvador National Police and Interpol, police were able to arrest Rivera in April of 2023.
According to Montgomery County detectives, he fled the country after the shooting almost 27 years ago. He remained in custody in El until he was extradited recently.
Currently, he’s being held at the Central Processing Unit within the Montgomery County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.
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