LA Hit-and-Run Suspect Nabbed at LAX After Nearly Two Years Hiding in El Salvador

A 33-year-old man accused of running down a 16-year-old bicyclist near BMO Stadium in November 2024 was arrested the moment his flight touched down at Los Angeles International Airport, closing out a manhunt that stretched across two countries and nearly two years. Jonathan Rodriguez was taken into custody without incident after U.S. Marshals and Customs and Border Protection officers boarded his arriving aircraft around noon.

The case began on November 22, 2024, when Rodriguez allegedly got into an altercation with a group of roughly 40 bicyclists near Exposition Park, according to investigators cited by CBS News Los Angeles. The confrontation reportedly began along Figueroa Street near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard before spilling into the outdoor parking lot at 3939 S. Figueroa St., adjacent to the stadium, according to Our Weekly. As the group of cyclists veered off the road and through an opening in the parking-lot fencing, another bicyclist may have struck Rodriguez's side mirror, the station's report noted.

A Teen Who Wasn't Even Part of the Fight

Rodriguez allegedly followed the bicyclists into the lot and ran over Jonathan Flores, a 16-year-old honor roll student and high school junior, according to the same account. Flores' friends said the teen was not involved in the altercation. CHP officers said Rodriguez then sped out of the parking lot and fled the scene, leaving Flores fatally injured.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled Flores' death a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries, a finding that, per FOX 11 Los Angeles, allowed prosecutors to pursue murder charges rather than a lesser vehicular offense. California Highway Patrol detectives moved quickly, and on November 23, 2024, executed a search warrant at a Los Angeles residence tied to Rodriguez, seizing a blue BMW and a black Honda sedan believed connected to the crash, according to the Los Angeles Times. Three days later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office charged Rodriguez with murder, felony hit-and-run, and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony, setting bail at $2 million.

A Fugitive Across Two Borders

By the time charges were filed, Rodriguez had already used his dual citizenship to flee, first to Mexico and later settling in El Salvador, according to MyNewsLA.com. To track him down, the CHP called in the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, which pursued him under a $2.2 million extradition warrant. The task force specializes in locating high-profile fugitives across international borders, the outlet reported.

The nearly two-year manhunt ended not with a raid but a negotiated surrender: Rodriguez's attorney coordinated directly with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to arrange his return. When his flight from El Salvador landed at LAX, task force members and CBP officers boarded the plane and arrested him on the spot before he was booked into jail.

Community Anger and Calls for Tougher Penalties

Flores' death sparked immediate outrage in South Los Angeles. Local activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson organized a press conference calling for stricter hit-and-run penalties, and dozens of cyclists staged a memorial ride through downtown Los Angeles days after the crash, according to KCAL News. Dan Kene, reflecting the frustration many in the community expressed, said of the crash, “It's a tragic incident and 100% preventable, avoidable. It should have never happened.”

California continues to lead the nation in total fatal hit-and-run collisions, with Los Angeles County accounting for a significant share of Southern California's severe pedestrian and cyclist traffic fatalities, per KCAL News. Advocates have repeatedly pointed to those statistics while pushing for tougher road-safety enforcement in the years since Flores was killed.

What Rodriguez Faces Now

Rodriguez is accused of killing Flores and now faces the original murder, hit-and-run, and deadly-weapon charges filed in 2024. Under California Penal Code Section 187, a second-degree murder conviction carries 15 years to life in state prison, while first-degree murder carries 25 years to life, according to DCD Law. Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 20001(b)(2) makes fleeing the scene of a fatal or seriously injurious crash a felony punishable by two to four years in prison and fines up to $10,000, per Power Trial Lawyers. Rodriguez remains in custody as the case moves forward nearly two years after Flores was killed.