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Tracked Down by Federal Marshalls

SANTA BARBARA, CA – 10/16/2006 – On 9/13/06, Frank Tacadena, age 60, was shot in the neck as he sat in his vehicle parked at 419 W. Islay Street. He was killed in front of his wife, who was a passenger in the vehicle. The next day, police arrested John Lopez, age 26, in Ventura for his role in this homicide. Lopez remains in jail.

At the time of the shooting, Lopez lived at 427 W. Islay Street. Detectives quickly linked a friend of Lopez’s named Luis Sosa to this incident. John Lopez and Luis Sosa are both members of a Ventura based gang. Witnesses and evidence place them together at the scene. The morning of the homicide, Sosa was released from County Jail. He linked up with Lopez and the two were drinking near the corner of Castillo and Islay Street. Shortly before 6:00 p.m., the victim and his wife drive past Lopez and Sosa. Tacadena parked his car while his wife dropped off her granddaughter. There is a history of bad blood between Lopez and Tacadena. Detectives believe Sosa confronted Tacadena as he sat in his vehicle. After a brief confrontation, Tacadena was shot in the neck. Lopez and Sosa fled the scene.

Following the homicide, Sosa fled from Santa Barbara to Ventura, to Palmdale, and then to Las Vegas. He bounced from one family member to another, trying to stay one step ahead of pursuing homicide detectives. Police confirmed that Sosa had crossed state lines and the Federal Marshalls were called to assist. The Marshalls assisted SBPD detectives with stake-outs and interviews of family members at several Palmdale and Las Vegas locations. Detectives got a big break when they connected Sosa to a cousin who lives in St. Louis, Missouri. As detectives were in route to continue the manhunt, Federal Marshalls staked out the cousin’s apartment in a downtown blue collar St. Louis neighborhood. The Marshalls contacted the cousin, who directed them to a friend’s apartment across town. The Marshalls went there and located Luis Sosa. When contacted, Sosa gave a false name and had counterfeit identification in his possession. Once his identity was confirmed, he was arrested and held at the St. Louis City Jail.

On 10/13/06, Sosa appeared in a St. Louis court and waived extradition. He flew back under police guard and on 11/14/06 was booked in the SB County Jail on the charge of murder. He is being held without bail. On 10/14/06, a live line-up was held for witnesses in the case. The reasons arrest details were not released earlier was to avoid influencing the witnesses who viewed the line-up.