Vehicular Homicide Suspect Extradited From Australia, in Whittier Police Custody This Morning |
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FBI Los Angeles
29 October 2020
Public Affairs Specialist Laura Eimiller
(310) 996-3343
On Monday, January 30, 2017, the Whittier Police Department responded to a hit-and-run vehicle versus bicyclist traffic collision in the area of Calmada Ave and Flomar Drive. A female driver, driving a white Lexus sedan struck the bicyclist, dragging him under the car for a long distance, and then fled the scene. The bicyclist, Agustin Rodriguez, Jr., age 46, succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators from the Whittier Police Department Traffic Bureau received information identifying Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes as the driver of the white Lexus sedan and were able to locate the involved vehicle at a residential garage in the state of Idaho. Additional evidence was also located in the state of Nevada.
Investigators also determined Reyes fled the United States soon after the collision and was living in Hong Kong. Working cooperatively with the FBI, an international arrest warrant was obtained for Reyes. As the investigation progressed, the FBI determined Reyes was now living in Australia. Through cooperation with Australian law enforcement authorities, Reyes was taken into custody.
A lengthy extradition proceeding has been in the works for over a year, and yesterday, Reyes was transferred to the custody of the United States Marshals in Australia. She was flown to the United States and landed this morning at the Van Nuys airport. Upon arrival, Reyes was transferred to the custody of the Whittier Police Department. Reyes will be charged with felony hit and run and felony vehicular manslaughter.
The fugitive investigation and the successful return of Chan Reyes was the result of a collaborative international effort among the following officials: the Whittier Police Department; the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles Field Office; the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs; the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles; the Australian Federal Police; the United States Embassy in Canberra, Australia; the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Canberra, Australia; the United States Marshal’s Service in Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles Airport Police, Van Nuys.
For more information, contact WPD Watch Commander 562-567-9255.