LOS ANGELES, CA – A Los Angeles man wanted in connection with the 2024 death of a teenage bicyclist in Exposition Park was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport after authorities said an investigation tracked him from California to Mexico and eventually El Salvador.
Jonathan Rodriguez, 33, was arrested Aug. 27 after arriving at LAX on a flight from El Salvador, according to information released by the California Highway Patrol.
Rodriguez was wanted on a $2.02 million full-extradition warrant stemming from a Nov. 22, 2024, incident in which a juvenile bicyclist was struck by a vehicle in a parking area along Figueroa Street, just north of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The teenager later died from his injuries.
CHP investigators identified Rodriguez as the driver they believe was responsible and pursued the case for nearly two years as he allegedly moved outside the United States.
Rodriguez has been booked into custody on the outstanding warrant. The allegations against him have not been proven in court, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
Investigation began with teen bicyclist’s death
The fatal incident occurred near Exposition Park on Nov. 22, 2024.
CHP Southern Division Major Crimes Unit detectives responded after a vehicle struck the juvenile bicyclist and the driver left the scene.
The victim was later identified in accounts surrounding the case as a 16-year-old boy.
Investigators eventually focused on Rodriguez and obtained the high-value extradition warrant for his arrest.
Authorities have characterized the case as a murder investigation rather than a conventional fatal hit-and-run prosecution, though the exact charging document and full set of allegations were not included in the information provided for this report.
That distinction will become clearer when Rodriguez is formally arraigned and prosecutors identify the charges being pursued in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Investigators say Rodriguez fled first to Mexico
CHP detectives determined Rodriguez left the United States for Mexico after the fatal incident.
The investigation subsequently expanded beyond California and became a joint fugitive operation involving the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations and routinely assists state and local authorities with suspects who cross jurisdictional and international boundaries.
Its official fugitive-apprehension materials describe the Pacific Southwest team as one of eight congressionally funded regional fugitive task forces combining federal, state and local law-enforcement resources.
Those task forces are designed specifically for cases in which a wanted person can no longer be located through a single agency’s normal jurisdiction.
In Rodriguez’s case, investigators said they eventually determined that he had traveled from Mexico to El Salvador, using dual citizenship.
International investigation reaches El Salvador
Locating a California fugitive in another country can add substantial complexity to an arrest.
International cases may require coordination among prosecutors, federal law enforcement, foreign governments and diplomatic or immigration authorities before a wanted person can be returned to the United States.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office maintains a specialized process for such cases.
Its current Legal Policies Manual directs prosecutors handling international fugitives and foreign investigative assistance to coordinate through the office’s Extradition Services Section. The same policies describe extradition as the preferred route for returning fugitives to California when it is legally and practically available.
The manual also recognizes that international cases can require special investigative tools and cooperation with authorities overseas.
In this case, authorities ultimately did not have to conduct a forced arrest operation in El Salvador.
Instead, Rodriguez’s attorney contacted the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and began discussions concerning his surrender.
Attorney negotiated return to Los Angeles
According to CHP, Rodriguez’s counsel worked with prosecutors and law-enforcement authorities to arrange his return.
Officials in El Salvador were also involved in coordinating the process.
The arrangement culminated in Rodriguez boarding a flight back to Los Angeles.
Shortly after the aircraft landed at LAX around midday Aug. 27, members of the fugitive task force and U.S. Customs and Border Protection boarded the plane.
Rodriguez was taken into custody without incident.
CHP detectives then assumed custody and booked him on the outstanding warrant.
The operation ended a search that began shortly after the teenager’s death in November 2024 and eventually stretched across three countries.
U.S. Marshals routinely handle transnational fugitives
Rodriguez’s arrest fits within a broader federal system built around locating fugitives outside the jurisdictions where their alleged crimes occurred.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive-apprehension program, the agency assists state and local departments in locating their most dangerous wanted suspects and coordinates international removals involving extraditions, deportations and expulsions.
In fiscal year 2023 alone, the agency reported handling 1,487 transnational fugitives and participating in 772 international removals.
Those national figures are not specific to Rodriguez’s case, but they provide context for why CHP turned to a federal fugitive task force once investigators determined their suspect had left the United States.
USMS has also documented investigative coordination with well over 100 foreign countries and territories in past international fugitive operations.
CHP chief credits persistence and international cooperation
CHP Chief Chris Margaris praised investigators and the agencies that helped arrange Rodriguez’s return.
“This murder suspect was taken into custody thanks to the unrelenting commitment of our detectives and the cooperation of the United States Marshals Service and the El Salvadorian government,” Margaris said.
He said detectives continued pursuing the case for nearly two years despite Rodriguez leaving the country.
“The CHP remains committed to protecting the public, supporting victims and their families, and holding violent criminals accountable wherever they may try to hide,” Margaris said.
The arrest represents the end of the fugitive phase of the case, but not the prosecution itself.
$2.02 million warrant remains significant
Authorities described the warrant as a full-extradition warrant, meaning investigators were authorized to pursue Rodriguez’s return even after he was located outside California.
The $2.02 million amount reflects the bail associated with the warrant rather than a fine or judgment against Rodriguez.
Because he has now been returned to Los Angeles, the next decisions concerning detention, bail and formal charges will occur through the criminal court process.
The District Attorney’s own policies distinguish between locating a fugitive and actually prosecuting the underlying case. Once a wanted person has been returned, prosecutors must continue through ordinary California criminal proceedings.
Arraignment expected in Los Angeles County
Rodriguez is expected to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court for arraignment.
At that proceeding, prosecutors can formally present the criminal charges, and Rodriguez will have an opportunity to enter a plea.
The available information describes him as a murder suspect, but a court filing will provide the most precise description of the charges and any accompanying allegations.
Authorities have not yet publicly provided a sentencing exposure because Rodriguez has not been convicted.
Likewise, the $2.02 million warrant should not be interpreted as evidence that the allegations are true.
Several details remain unresolved publicly
CHP’s latest announcement focuses primarily on the international search and arrest rather than revisiting every detail of the 2024 collision.
Authorities have not publicly explained in the information provided:
- what evidence investigators used to identify Rodriguez;
- how soon after the fatal incident they determined he had left the country;
- exactly when he entered Mexico or El Salvador;
- how investigators confirmed his location overseas;
- or what specific terms were negotiated before his voluntary return.
Those details may emerge through court proceedings.
The arrest nevertheless establishes a major development in a case that had remained unresolved for nearly two years.
A teenager was killed in November 2024, investigators identified a suspect, and that suspect allegedly left the United States before he could be arrested.
CHP detectives continued the investigation with the U.S. Marshals Service, tracked Rodriguez to El Salvador and eventually coordinated his return with prosecutors, Salvadoran authorities and his attorney.
When his flight landed at LAX on Aug. 27, federal officers boarded the aircraft and took him into custody.
Rodriguez is now back in Los Angeles County, where the case is expected to move from an international fugitive investigation into the criminal court system.
