Fugitive wanted for murdering Miami man is back in the U.S. after escaping to Peru nearly 30 years ago

A fugitive wanted for murdering a Miami man nearly 30 years ago has been taken back to the United States after investigators say he fled to Peru and stole the identity of a deceased Peruvian soldier.

Authorities also say Christian Miguel Orosco, 49, had been working as an air traffic controller in Peru for decades before he was extradited to Miami.

Orosco is accused of shooting and killing Jimmy Schwarz, 22, at a gas station on Thanksgiving night in 1996.

Schwarz's family says they are relieved that Jimmy gets the justice he deserves.

"He took away something so precious. The man who did this didn't just take one life; he took a piece of ours," Nicole Modrono, the victim's sister, said.

Schwarz's family said that he was their rock and protector.

"He took care of me, my mom, and my daughter. There was no father around. He was everything to us, at a very young age," Eileen Motte, the victim's mother, said.

His family last saw Schwarz at their Thanksgiving dinner in 1996. He left and went to a Mobil gas station in Miami, located at the 3200 block of NW 79th Street.

There, investigators say he got into an argument with a gang member, who shot and killed him.

How investigators were able to arrest Orosco 

For decades, the case went cold until just last year. Detectives called Jimmy's sister on her last birthday and told her they had identified the man who killed her brother as Orosco, a Peruvian national who fled to Peru after the shooting. They say that they were able to arrest him due to a tip that was sent in.

On Tuesday night, Orosco flew back to the United States, escorted by Miami-Dade Sheriff's detectives and the FBI. When asked questions, he stayed silent.

Miami-Dade cold case detectives say that this is just one of the cold cases they are dedicated to solving.

"There's no statute of limitations for homicide. So we will never stop investigating a case. I know families get frustrated. I understand their pain, but for us it's just a matter of continuing to follow up on leads and continuing to stay on the cases, and that's what we do day in and day out, we never stop working for the families,"  MDSO Detective Juan Segovia said.

Orosco is now at TGK, where he is scheduled to appear in bond court on Wednesday.