An accused hit-and-run driver from Reedley is back in Fresno County after a border arrest became a jail transfer, putting the case closer to its first local court proceedings. Omar Chavez, 48, is being held in connection with the deaths of Luis Martinez Araujo and Maria Juarez Mendez, and his bail is set at $45,000.
According to KMPH, Chavez was picked up from San Diego County Jail and moved to Fresno County Jail Monday. The station reported that he had recently been arrested at the CBX bridge, the crossing connecting Tijuana International Airport with the United States.
The deaths happened last Tuesday on Manning Avenue at Haney Avenue in Reedley. Investigators say Chavez was driving a van carrying farmworkers when it struck the elderly couple; people inside the van reportedly witnessed the collision, but the vehicle continued to a work site.
As detailed by an earlier KMPH report, Chavez later contacted family members, said he was in Mexico and agreed to turn himself in. Reedley investigators met him at CBX and took him into custody without incident before he was booked into San Diego County Jail with help from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Fresno Court Proceedings Are Next
The transfer brings the case back to the county where the fatal collision occurred and where prosecutors will handle the charges. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office says its jail procedures allow the District Attorney’s Office two complete court days from a new arrest to file charges, excluding weekends and court holidays.
For now, Chavez remains accused in the deaths of Martinez Araujo and Juarez Mendez. The case is expected to move forward through Fresno County Superior Court, where the charging documents and arraignment schedule should provide more detail about the allegations.
