Cold case suspect in 1998 homicide returns to Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A man has been extradited to Oregon to face a murder charge in the 1998 shooting death of a teenager.

The Statesman Journal reports Fernando Cortez was arraigned Thursday in Marion County. Judge Rafael Caso ordered the 38-year-old man held without bail.

Authorities say 16-year-old Alfredo Lopez-Nabor was fatally shot May 9, 1998, during a gang-related fight outside a Salem convenience store.

Investigators developed probable cause to arrest Cortez, but the suspect who was 19 at the time fled to Mexico.

A Salem police detective reopened the investigation a decade later as a cold case. He found that Cortez had returned to the U.S., and was possibly living under a false name.

Cortez was arrested about two months ago in Oxnard, California.