Greene County man can be extradited to Mexico for rape, murder
A Greene County man wanted for aggravated murder and rape in Mexico can be extradited to face those charges.
A federal magistrate ruled late Wednesday that there was sufficient probable cause that Dylan Johnson, 29, of Nemacolin killed 16-year-old Hilario Garcia Rosales, 16, at a Mexican hotel on Sept. 7, 2003.
Federal authorities arrested Johnson in February, after Mexican officials notified U.S. officials they wanted to extradite Johnson. He has been in a federal lockup since his arrest, and in August, his attorney fought the extradition request, claiming there was lacking probable cause, and that a judge should throw out the request because Mexican authorities waited so long to pursue Johnson.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly, however, found that U.S. prosecutors “provid(ed) sufficient evidence to establish probable cause as to both the charge for aggravated murder and the charge for rape.”
She noted that there was evidence that Johnson spent time with the victim, that they were together in the hours prior to the crime, that Johnson’s truck was at the hotel the night Rosales was killed. She also noted that Johnson’s truck was found abandoned, and that his passport and an Ohio identification card were found in the vehicle and used to identify him as the man who was in the hotel room.
“No one else was seen entering or leaving the room from the time Johnson fled until the following afternoon, when the maid checked to see if the room was still occupied,” Kelly wrote.
While there was a delay in seeking extradition, Kelly noted that the charges do not expire until 2033 under Mexican law.
In a complaint filed in the case, authorities alleged that Johnson got a room at a hotel in Empalme Escobedo, Guanajuato, Mexico, and he and Rosales went inside. About 45 minutes later, Johnson left in the same green pickup truck he came there driving, authorities alleged.
The next afternoon, a cleaning lady told the hotel owner that she went into the room and saw Rosales on the floor and believed he was asleep, so she left. She came back a few hours later, and when Rosales was still on the floor, the owners of the hotel called police.
The complaint alleged that there was smeared blood in several locations in the room and the medical examiner deemed the cause of death asphyxia by strangulation.
Rosales’ parents told police that her son knew Johnson, and the two would go to dances and drink beer together.
A judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Johnson on Dec. 8, 2003, but Mexican authorities did not make a formal extradition request until July 8, 2011.
Johnson, through his attorney, can appeal the extradition decision.