Oklahoma man named in connection with Mexico killing

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A Claremore man has been arrested in connection with murder and robbery charges in Mexico.

Matthew Allen Johnson, 22, was arrested on a federal warrant Wednesday, said Richard A. Marquise, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oklahoma.

Mexican authorities discovered the body of Neils Eric Akin in September 1996 on a highway near Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas. Three people were arrested in Mexico in connection with the killing and said Johnson was also involved, according to the FBI.

Johnson was arrested by Claremore police on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant and was about to bond out of jail when the FBI secured a federal warrant for his arrest.

The Office of International Affairs at the Justice Department had to first issue a provisional warrant, indicating that a warrant was out for Johnson in Mexico.

The provisional warrant authorized Oklahoma FBI to act, an agency spokesman said.

Mexican officials had to work out the details of extradition and file the proper documents, which contributed to a lengthy delay before a warrant was issued in the United States, the spokesman said.