FBI says man accused in shooting of Camille Love in 2010 in Tacoma has been arrested
A man accused in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Camille Love a decade ago has been arrested.
Santiago Villalba Mederos, 29, was arrested Friday in Tenancingo, Mexico and has been brought to the United States, according to the FBI.
Mederos is charged with first-degree murder in Love’s death, as well as attempted first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful gun possession. He’s also charged with second-degree murder in a separate Tacoma case, the death of Saul Lucas-Alfonso.
Mederos made the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list in 2017.
He was one of seven people charged in connection to Love’s death. According to court records, Mederos and at least one other person opened fire on the car Love and her brother, Josh Love, were traveling in.
Josh Love was wounded and Camille Love died from her injuries.
Prosecutors alleged the group targeted the Loves’ car because it was red while looking for rival gang members in retaliation for another shooting.
The Loves weren’t affiliated with a gang, police said. Camille Love was an aspiring veterinary technician.
The month after her death, Mederos allegedly was part of a group that ransacked a car in a Tacoma alley that belonged to someone they thought owed their gang money.
Prosecutors said a fight started when several men confronted them, and Mederos fired, fatally hitting 25-year-old Lucas-Alfonso.
“This arrest is result of good old-fashioned detective work and a great collaborative effort with our federal and international partners,” Raymond Duda, the special agent in charge of the Seattle Division of the FB,I said in a statement. “Hopefully the families of Mederos’ victims will finally see a resolution for these senseless acts.”
There have been 523 fugitives on the FBI’s top ten list since it was created in 1950; 489 have been found.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 5:09 PM.
