MIAMI, FL – Nearly three decades after a young man’s tragic death on Thanksgiving Day, authorities have apprehended a suspect who had been living under a false identity in Peru. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Miguel Orozco, 49, believed to have been responsible for the 1996 murder of 22-year-old Jimmy Schwartz.
Jimmy Schwartz’s family had long feared his case would remain unsolved. Nicole Medrano, Jimmy’s sister, expressed their feelings of despair and neglect over the years. However, recent developments have brought renewed hope as detectives received crucial information leading to a breakthrough in the case.
On that fateful Thanksgiving Day, Schwartz left his family home to meet friends, unaware it would be his last goodbye. According to authorities, he was involved in an altercation with a man at a gas station on Northwest 79th Street, who then shot him. The suspect, identified as a gang member, managed to evade capture for years.
The investigation took a significant turn when Peruvian officials, acting on a tip-off, arrested Orozco, who had assumed the identity of Eduardo Enrique Albarracin Trejo. Witnesses had identified him as the shooter years ago, but he had been living in Peru, working for the government as an air traffic controller.
Detectives confirmed Orozco’s identity through fingerprint analysis. His ability to live undetected for so long, even securing a government job, has been a point of concern for authorities in Peru. Miami-Dade detectives are collaborating with their Peruvian counterparts to unravel how Orozco managed to steal an identity and flee the country.
The Schwartz family, while still grieving, expressed gratitude for the renewed attention to Jimmy’s case. Nicole Medrano acknowledged the efforts of those who never forgot her brother, expressing relief that justice might finally be served.
The extradition process could take up to a year, as authorities work through the legal complexities. Meanwhile, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding Orozco’s escape and identity theft.