Oak Park Newspaper

public’s help sought
in search for CHICAGO MURDER SUSPECT

            Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is asking for the public’s help in locating a former Chicago resident, who is wanted for the August 1982 beating and stabbing death of a Little Village man.

    FRANCISCO RUIZ, age 47, whose last known address was in the 2400 block of South Drake Street in Chicago, has been the subject of an international manhunt coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) since 2006, when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, which is a felony offense.

RUIZ, who is a Mexican national, is believed to have fled the state in August of 1982, shortly before he was charged in Cook County Circuit Court with First Degree Murder. The murder charge stems from RUIZ’s alleged involvement in the beating and stabbing death of Victor Robledo, during an apparent dispute.

            Investigation by the Chicago Police Department developed evidence linking RUIZ to the murder and resulting in the charges that were filed against him. However, attempts to locate and arrest RUIZ were unsuccessful and information was later developed indicating that he fled to his native Mexico the day after the crime. Investigators believe that RUIZ has since returned to the Chicago area, where he has friends and family. In 2006, RUIZ was detained by immigration officials in Arizona after being caught entering the country illegally. He provided a false name and was deported before his true identity could be determined.

            RUIZ is described as a Hispanic/male, 5’ 7” tall, 150 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a mustache. He has tattoos on his left hand, right shoulder and chest, and is known to use the aliases of Francisco Reyes and “Poco”. Given the nature of the charges filed against him and his criminal record, RUIZ should be considered Armed and Dangerous.

            The search for RUIZ is being coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) which is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Detectives from the Chicago Police Department and Investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

                         Anyone recognizing RUIZ or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700 or any law enforcement agency.

            The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.