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FBI Announces $10,000 Reward to Help Locate Maico Encarnacion Lopez

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

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SACRAMENTO—The FBI Sacramento Field Office is announcing a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maico Encarnacion Lopez, a 45-year-old Mexican national. The FBI, Kern County District Attorney’s Office and Arvin Police Department are seeking assistance from the public to locate Encarnacion Lopez, who is suspected of murdering a woman on or about September 11, 2011, and fleeing to avoid prosecution for the crime.

Photos of Encarnacion Lopez and identifying information, including known aliases, are noted on the FBI wanted poster that is available online in both English and Spanish. Encarnacion Lopez, who is considered armed and dangerous, is believed to have ties to California and Mexico but his current location is unknown.

On September 12, 2011, Arvin Police Department officers discovered the woman’s body during a welfare check at a residence located on the 100 block of Monroe Avenue in the Kern County community of Arvin, California. Encarnacion Lopez and the victim had a relationship and shared two children. Law enforcement believes Lopez fled Kern County after the alleged murder.

A felony complaint against Lopez Encarnacion was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern, Bakersfield Judicial District, on March 2, 2012. The Kern County District Attorney’s Office unsealed the warrant for Lopez’s arrest on March 12, 2020.

Anyone who may have information regarding the location of Encarnacion Lopez may contact the local FBI office or nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips may also be submitted at tips.fbi.gov and can by submitted anonymously.

Additional posters featuring fugitives and cases in need of additional information from the public are available on the FBI Sacramento Division’s Most Wanted page, https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/wanted.

Link to posters: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/maico-encarnacion-lopez

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Man Wanted by Los Angeles Police Department for Murder at a Northridge Fast-Food Restaurant and Wanted by the FBI for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution Returned from Mexico by the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

LOS ANGELES—A man suspected of murdering a victim outside a fast-food restaurant in Northridge in 2017 was returned to Los Angeles by members of the FBI’s Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force to face prosecution announced Kristi K. Johnson, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Derek Bryan Dominguez, a convicted felon, was wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a man in California on the evening of December 31, 2017.

According to detectives and a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court in the Central District of California, Dominguez was inside a fast food restaurant in Los Angeles, California, with his girlfriend and two sons when he made eye contact through the restaurant window with another male. The male was outside of the restaurant with the victim and another man.

Dominguez allegedly exited the restaurant and, after a brief verbal altercation involving the man with whom he made eye contact, punched the victim in the face. The victim attempted to defend himself, according to investigators, and punched back before Dominguez allegedly produced a handgun and fired multiple rounds, ultimately killing the victim.

Dominguez fled the scene. Homicide detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department believed he fled to Mexico at the time.

Dominguez was charged with murder by the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, and a state warrant was issued for his arrest on January 26, 2018.

A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 2, 2020, after Dominguez was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. A wanted poster of Dominguez was posted on the FBI’s website at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/derek-bryandominguez

Following the arrest, Dominguez was booked into a Los Angeles jail and was expected to have an appearance in state court on the murder charge. The Los Angeles County District Attorney is expected to pursue the homicide prosecution. The United States government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging Dominguez.

The fugitive investigation concerning Dominquez was conducted by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles. The Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles is comprised of FBI Agents and Task Force Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and Los Angeles County Probation.

The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement as well as counterparts in other countries to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.

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FBI Offers Reward of Up to $10,000 for Information Regarding Stolen National Treasures

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

KANSAS CITY, MO—The FBI announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the recovery of national treasures stolen 43 years ago from the Truman Presidential Library located at 500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri.

On March 24, 1978, around 6:30 a.m. a car pulled up near the south gate of the library. Two suspects, believed to be aware of the library’s security procedures, broke into the library and smashed a display case in the lobby. The display case contained three ceremonial swords and two daggers that had been given to President Truman by the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud and the Shah of Iran. The theft took just minutes and the suspects fled the building through a window. The items stolen were valued between $700,000 and $1,000,000 in 1978 value.

The FBI is renewing this investigative effort and is seeking the public’s assistance for any information pertaining to the theft or whereabouts of these stolen national treasures. Anyone with information should contact the FBI Kansas City office directly at (816) 512-8200 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Images and descriptions of the items taken can be found on the National Stolen Art File website: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/national-stolen-art-file by searching reference number 00274.

The FBI has a specialized Art Crime Team of special agents supported by special trial attorneys to recover stolen items and prosecute art and cultural property crime. The team investigates theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines. The FBI also runs the National Stolen Art File, a computerized index of stolen art and cultural properties that is used as a reference by law enforcement agencies worldwide. More information regarding the FBI’s Art Crime Team is available online at https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft#Art-Crime%20Team.

Images and descriptions taken from the FBI’s National Stolen Art File:

Dagger, scabbard, and belt: Weapon grip decorated with 9 diamonds in linear pattern, scabbard decorated with four diamonds in rhomboid shape

Sword and scabbard: Weapon ivory grips, gold decoration chain leading from hand guard to pommel, diamonds and rubies on grips and scabbard

Dagger and scabbard: Weapon dagger hilt inlaid with 4 diamonds surrounding 1 emerald. Lower grip of dagger has 15 small diamonds surrounding oval ruby. Scabbard has 4 rubies at the throat and is also inlaid with an emerald over a ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds. At tip of scabbard is ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds.

Presentation Sword: Sword gemstone (diamond) decoration on grips and scabbard, gold chain from hand guard to pommel of sword.

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FBI Offering Reward of Up to $50,000 for Information in Cold Case Homicide Investigation

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

KANSAS CITY, MO—FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan announced today that the FBI is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the 1998 murder of Rhonda Tribue.

Rhonda, who may of also been known by her maiden name Easley, was a mother of six children, living in Kansas City, Kansas. She was found dead from apparent blunt force trauma at approximately 4:40 a.m. on October 8, 1998. Her body was discovered in the roadway at the 500 block of South 94th Street, near Edwardsville, Kansas. In the early morning hours of that same day, Rhonda had been seen at the Firelight lounge. Rhonda was known to frequent the Firelight lounge and the area of 7th Street and Quindaro Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas.

Rhonda was 34-years-old at the time of her murder. At the time of her death, she was wearing a High-Sierra brand, dark-purple corduroy jacket over a gold lace top, pumpkin colored jeans, and brown sandals.

Rhonda was described as follows:

  • Sex: Female
  • Height: 5’5”
  • Age: 34 at time of death
  • Weight: 145 lbs.
  • Race: Light-skinned black female
  • Build: Medium build
  • Eyes: Brown
  • Married last name: Tribue
  • Hair: dark brown with deep orange/yellow highlights
  • Maiden last name: Easley

Anyone with information regarding this homicide should call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Photo taken September 1998. Computer enhanced photograph.

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New Autopsy Determines Death of Alonzo Brooks was a Homicide

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

KANSAS CITY, KS—The death of a Kansas man whose body was found in a creek in La Cygne, Kansas, in 2004 was a homicide, according to a new report by a federal forensic examiner.

As part of a continuing federal investigation of Alonzo Brooks’ death, his body was exhumed and transported to Dover Air Force Base for examination by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. The examiner’s report concludes that the cause of death was homicide.

“We knew that Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard. “This new examination by a team of the world’s best forensic pathologists and experts establishes it was no accident. Alonzo Brooks was killed. We are doing everything we can, and will spare no resources, to bring those responsible to justice.”

“The FBI’s commitment to justice remains at the forefront of each and every investigation,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan. “Our reach is broad, and the strength of our investigative tools are exceptional. We remain dedicated to uncovering the truth surrounding the murder of Alonzo Brooks and ensuring those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”

The new autopsy focuses on injuries to parts of Brooks’ body that the examiner concluded are inconsistent with normal patterns of decomposition. Details of the examination are being withheld for investigative purposes.

In 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas and the FBI reopened the investigation of Brooks’ death, which had been dormant for years. As part of the new investigation, the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Brooks’ death.

In the initial investigation, a coroner in Linn County said he was unable to determine a cause of death and witnesses’ interviews failed to produce any arrests. The new investigation is focused on determining whether Brooks, an African-American who was 23 years old when he died, was the victim of a racially motivated killing. Brooks was last seen alive in April 2004 during a party at a house on the outskirts of La Cygne. He was one of only three African-American men at the party, which 100 or more people attended. Brooks, who lived in Gardner, Kansas, rode to the party with friends. They left before him and he wound up with no ride home.

When Brooks failed to come home the next day, his family and friends contacted the Linn County Sheriff’s Department.

According to reports at the time, the Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement agencies searched areas around the farmhouse, including parts of nearby Middle Creek, but did not find Alonzo.

After Alonzo had been missing for almost a month, a group of his family and friends organized a search. They began on the road near the farmhouse and walked the two branches of Middle Creek. In just under an hour, they found Alonzo’s body, partially on top of a pile of brush and branches in the creek.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the FBI at 816-512-8200 or 816-474-TIPS or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.