Nearly three decades after a fatal shooting at a northwest Miami gas station, law enforcement officials have arrested a suspect who had been living under an alias in Peru.
The breakthrough in the 1996 homicide case was made possible through an international effort involving the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Peruvian National Police, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office (SAO).
According to investigators, the shooting occurred on November 28, 1996, at around 11:30 p.m., at a gas station located at 3201 NW 79 Street. Officers with the then Metro-Dade Police Department responded to the scene and learned that the victim had earlier been involved in a verbal altercation with the suspect. Shortly afterward, the suspect allegedly returned, opened fire without provocation, and fled the area.
The victim was driven to Hialeah Hospital by friends, then airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, but died despite extensive medical efforts. A warrant was issued for Christian Miguel Orosco, who was believed to have fled the country. The case remained open under MDPD case #611323-S, with no resolution for nearly 30 years.
A recent tip to the Peruvian National Police led to a significant breakthrough. Authorities in Peru learned that a man known as Eduardo Enrique Albarracin Trillo, employed as an air traffic controller at Jorge Chavez International Airport, was in fact Orosco living under a false identity. Fingerprint analysis confirmed the match, and Peruvian police arrested Orosco without incident.
Miami-Dade investigators have since traveled to Peru to work with federal and local authorities to coordinate Orosco’s extradition to face a charge of Second-Degree Murder in Miami-Dade County.
“This arrest represents the persistence of our detectives and the power of international collaboration in bringing long-overdue justice to victims and their families,” the MDSO said in a statement. Authorities say no booking photo or arrest affidavit is currently available.
