Traffic stop leads to cold case arrest
On April 12, 1997, two men became involved in an altercation in the area of 40 East Raymond Street, at which time Wenceslao Gonzalez-Estrada, 41, stabbed 37 year-old Uvaldo Vargas-Alonzo to death. Gonzalez-Estrada fled the area, but witnesses and evidence at the scene led to a Grand Jury to indict him and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Saturday, August 29, at around 8:30 a.m., Gilbert police officer Robert Griffin, a three year veteran, conducted a traffic stop in the area of Pinto and Roanoke, in Gilbert, on vehicle pulling a trailer for a traffic violation. The suspect identified himself to the officer and a subsequent check revealed the warrant. Gonzalez-Estrada was taken into custody without incident and released to Phoenix Police detectives; he was later booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail.
It is unknown to police at this time where the suspect may have been for the past 12 years. Phoenix Police are continuing the investigation. This was great work by Officer Griffin and is indicative of the fact that officers throughout the valley will continue to seek out and bring to justice violent criminals, no matter how long it takes.