2017 Tulsa Murder Suspect Back In Oklahoma After Extradition From Mexico

A 2017 Tulsa murder suspect is back in Tulsa after hiding out in Mexico for the last six years.

US Marshals with the help of INTERPOL agents tracked down and arrested Jose Gomez-Baca who is charged with gunning down his girlfriend, Elizabeth Rodriguez, in her driveway.

US Marshals knew days after the murder, Gomez-Baca fled to Mexico, but finding him was a challenge. They say they got some good information earlier this year, that helped them know exactly where Gomez-Baca was living.

Gomez-Baca was arrested back in June in Colima, Mexico which is about 480 miles from Mexico City. He was arrested at work and spent the last three months in a Mexican jail.

"Once we verified he made it into Mexico, he pretty much disappeared off the radar. We had some leads here and there that didn't really pan out,” said Deputy US Marshal John Gage.

Gage says they kept working on the case, but some helpful tips came in within the last six months. Gage says Gomez-Baca had been working at a machine shop, and they arrested him as he walked out of work.

“We work well with the Mexican officials. It is a different process, but if you are going to go to Mexico, we are going to find you and we are going to get you out. It is not a safe haven,” said Gage.

Tulsa Police say Gomez-Baca shot and killed his girlfriend Elizabeth Rodriguez in her own driveway back in 2017. According to detectives Rodriguez was sitting in the back seat of a car in the 8000 block of East 2nd Street near Memorial Drive when she was shot. Rodriguez's brother said he and their mother were also sitting in the car when Gomezbaca opened fire. 

Detectives quickly identified him as the suspect. News On 6 talked with her brother at the time who said Gomez-Baca killed her because she was trying to leave him.

"He's a coward. I want him to see this, I want him to know I'm saying this. Because that is what he is. He is a coward,” said Gilberto Rodriguez back in 2017.

Gage hopes this long-awaited arrest can bring some sort of justice to Elizabeth's family.

"We are not going to give up. Cases can go on for decades. We are still going to be looking. We all work together,” said Gage. “It is a big relief for the family. I’m not aware how they are reacting, but I know in the early on-set, they were already ready for him to be caught and brought back."

The marshals turned over Gomez-Baca to Tulsa Homicide detectives and he’s now in the Tulsa County jail, charged with first-degree murder.