An Irvine man who posted $100,000 bail and then vanished to Peru is back in Orange County custody, facing a combined 11 criminal cases that include drug trafficking, identity theft, check fraud and vehicle theft. Erick Grant Rustad, 44, was flown into Los Angeles International Airport on the evening of October 13 and handed over to Irvine police, closing out roughly 18 months on the run.
Orange County prosecutors say Rustad fled the United States in April 2025, traveling first to Mexico before settling in Peru, where his mother holds citizenship, according to NBC Los Angeles. At the time he skipped town, he was out on $100,000 bail stemming from a felony fentanyl possession charge and had two prior drug possession convictions, per the outlet. The Orange County District Attorney's Office says Rustad had 11 open criminal cases pending against him when he disappeared.
Court records paint a picture of a man who kept getting arrested and kept getting out. An Orange County judge issued a $150,000 bench warrant for his arrest at the end of April 2025, and a federal judge separately signed off on an arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the station's report states. That federal warrant, filed in case 8:25-mj-00908 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was formally issued on November 10, 2025, according to PacerMonitor.
A Trail of Arrests Across Irvine and Tustin
The case against Rustad stretches back years before he ever left the country. Irvine police searched his Irvine home and car in May 2023 and say they recovered at least 14 victims' identification documents, Social Security numbers and credit cards, along with methamphetamine, per the same account from NBC Los Angeles. Two months later, Rustad was allegedly captured on surveillance video stealing a key to a Maserati, and while out on bail for that theft charge, he broke into a parking lot and tried to steal several bikes, according to the DA's office.
The pattern continued into 2024. In March of that year, Rustad allegedly deposited a stolen and altered check for $2,795 into his account, and by the following month, prosecutors say he was discussing drug purchases, pricing and supply chains by text while already out on bail for two prior felonies. A search warrant tied to that investigation turned up fentanyl, methamphetamine, multiple phones and digital scales used in drug sales, the DA's office said. In June 2024, Rustad was arrested again after someone delivered a blue bag containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, crushed Xanax pills and two cell phones to his home.
Rustad also faces accusations of stealing a package from a stranger's doorstep and sunglasses from Nordstrom, per the DA's office. He was arrested once more after posting bail, this time with dozens of unused baggies and methamphetamine concealed under his vehicle's hood. The same encounter turned up a mechanical license plate canceller in the trunk, a device that let his rear plate flip at the push of a button, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Irvine's Special Investigations Unit Had Already Flagged Him
Rustad wasn't a stranger to the Irvine Police Department's Special Investigations Unit before any of this. The unit had previously targeted him in local narcotics operations, executing search warrants at his residence after observing alleged drug sales in the community, according to the Irvine Police Department. That same unit has stayed active on fentanyl cases locally; Hoodline previously reported on officers arresting a suspect in January carrying fentanyl and methamphetamine in a bag printed with the words Come back with a warrant.
How Peru Signed Off on the Extradition
Rustad's path back to Orange County ran through Peru's highest court. Peru's Supreme Court issued its consultative decision approving his passive extradition under a simplified procedure on June 18, 2026; the Executive Branch granted extradition on August 14, 2026. The executive resolution formally recognized him as a dual citizen of Peru and the United States under the name Erick Grant Rustad Flores, according to the Official Gazette of the Republic of Peru.
From there, FBI agents escorted Rustad from Peru to Los Angeles International Airport, where he was formally handed over to the Irvine Police Department and booked into Orange County Jail, per the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The international operation involved the FBI Law Enforcement Attaché in Lima and the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. NBC Los Angeles reports that the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Irvine Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Tustin Police Department all contributed to the multijurisdictional effort that led to his arrest and extradition.
If convicted on all charges, Rustad faces a combined maximum sentence of 29 years and six months, according to NBC Los Angeles. He is at least the ninth fugitive since January to be removed or extradited from a foreign country back to Orange County to face criminal prosecution, the DA's office said, part of what prosecutors describe as a broader regional push to capture overseas fugitives.
The Bail Question Behind the Case
Rustad's repeated releases on bail despite a growing list of felony cases feed into a broader legal debate. How Rustad's 11 separate state cases will be consolidated for trial, and whether federal prosecutors will pursue separate charges tied to his unlawful flight warrant, remains an open question.
