CHULA VISTA (CNS) - An 18-year-old Mexican national suspected of fatally stabbing a co-worker at the victim's South Bay home last week was behind bars Friday after turning himself in at the San Ysidro port of entry.
Joe Andrew Cortez allegedly killed 44-year-old restaurant employee Rene Macias Pressa early on April 23, according to Chula Vista police. He intended to spend the night at Pressa's residence in a mixed-use office building at 45 Third Ave., but at some point the two men began fighting.
Cortez was apparently injured during the altercation and left a blood trail leading away from Pressa's apartment, Chula Vista police Lt. Fritz Reber said.
The suspect was believed to have walked, barefoot and clad in shorts and a black tank top, to the U.S.-Mexico border before crossing into Baja California and returning home, the lieutenant said.
Police and U.S. Marshals Service personnel initially coordinated with Mexican authorities to arrest Cortez at his Tijuana residence, but he had fled by the time officers arrived.
Cortez turned himself in yesterday at the San Ysidro port of entry and was arrested, Reber said. He was booked into the San Diego Central Jail on
suspicion of first-degree murder.
