Mexico Expels Norteno Member Wanted for Murder In California

A fugitive task force in west Texas has taken into custody a man wanted for a murder in the U.S. who was a member of a northern California Norteño street gang.

Emmanuel Matthew "Manny" Mendoza, 20, of Tracy, Calif., was expelled from Mexico at the El Paso border checkpoint, where he was handed over to the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on Sunday. Mendoza was taken into custory by Mexican authorities in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.

Mendoza, a documented member of the West Side Tracy Norteños, was sought by law enforcement for his involvement in a botched robbery and subsequent murder of Kevin Prater II of Tracy in September 2010.

California law enforcement authorities have been working this case, which was featured on "America's Most Wanted." Mendoza is now being held at the El Paso County Detention Facility. California authorities are expected to seek his extradition to that state.

"On behalf of the law enforcement community and our international partners who worked tirelessly to see this arrest to the end, we hope this will bring a little closure to the Prater family," said Robert R. Almonte, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas.