VENTURA, Calif. — A fugitive who evaded justice for more than two decades in Mexico has admitted guilt for his role in the fatal 1998 home-invasion shooting of a Ventura resident, law enforcement officials announced.
Click here to view the official Ventura County District Attorney's Office press release regarding Manuel Alejandro Vasquez's guilty plea.
The guilty plea was announced by Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko following court proceedings on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Authorities identified the defendant as 48-year-old Manuel Alejandro Vasquez (born February 10, 1978), a resident of Winnetka, California.
Vasquez entered his formal guilty plea under Ventura County Superior Court case number 1998007943 (court docket CR44629).
1998 Murder-for-Hire, Extortion Plot, and Decades on the Run
According to court filings and investigation records from the Ventura Police Department, the fatal incident took place on June 13, 1998, inside the Ventura home of victim Felipe Arambula.
Detectives determined that Jose Vazquez hired Manuel Vasquez and David Hampton to break into Arambula's home, kidnap him, and extort money over an alleged unpaid financial debt. During the physical confrontation inside the residence, Hampton shot and killed Arambula.
Ventura Police detectives swiftly identified the conspirators, leading to the 1999 murder convictions and life-without-parole sentences for both Hampton and Jose Vazquez.
However, Manuel Vasquez fled across the southern border into Mexico before formal charges could be served, remaining a international fugitive for 25 years. Law enforcement authorities located and apprehended Vasquez in Mexico in 2023, successfully extraditing him back to Ventura County in April 2025.
Prosecution Statements and Upcoming Mandatory Sentencing
Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, a prosecutor with the District Attorney's Office Major Crimes Homicide Unit, prosecuted the cold case.
"I was glad to see the defendant take responsibility for his role in the murder of Felipe Arambula at an early stage in the proceedings," Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick stated following the plea hearing.
"The victim’s family has suffered so much since Mr. Arambula’s life was tragically taken from him in June 1998. This conviction won’t replace the time that the defendant and his conspirators stole from Mr. Arambula’s family, but I do hope it will bring them the peace they deserve," Barrick added.
Vasquez pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder under California Penal Code § 187(a).
He remains held in custody without bail at the Ventura County Main Jail and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2026, where he faces a mandatory term of 25 years to life in state prison.
Official case records and news announcements can be accessed through the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Newsroom.