CHARLOTTE — Nearly a decade after 23-year-old Sandy Le was shot and left in the woods in Cabarrus County, federal agents said they have finally captured her accused killer, a former coworker who spent years on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and was arrested almost 2,000 miles away in Mexico.
The suspects, Alex Castillo and Ahmia Feaster, worked with Le in 2016 at the Showmars on Little Rock Road in west Charlotte, detective said. Feaster surrendered after a brief stint on the run.
There is video of Castillo, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, crossing the border into Mexico. Federal agents tracked Castillo in Mexico.
Former WSOC crime reporter Mark Becker investigated the story 10 years ago.
“Frankly, I don’t know how much hope there ever was that they would find Alex Castillo,” Becker said.
It began as a search for Le, who was missing from southwest Charlotte.
Police said her loved ones didn’t know at that time that she had been shot in the head.
Police said Le’s coworkers, Castillo and Feaster, drove her car to Castillo’s family home in Arizona.
Le’s body was later found in the woods in Cabarrus County, and investigators started searching for the suspects.
Her family, who are Buddhists, had a somber memorial for her.
“When I went to the funeral, you could feel their heartbreak and you could feel how compassionate they were,” Becker said.
The FBI said 10 years later, someone spotted Castillo in a city north of Mexico City, which led to his arrest.
The FBI said he is coming back.
The reward for his arrest was up to $250,000.
Former Belmont Police Chief and career investigator David James said 10 years of searching can erode any investigation heading to trial.
“Witnesses forget things. Officers retire. They change addresses. They change phone numbers,” James said.
He said forensic evidence that can tie a person to a crime is still reliable.
“That evidence by statue can never be disposed or anything like that,” James said.
The FBI said this is the fifth arrest they’ve made off the 10 Most Wanted list under this administration since last year.
The agency said that’s more than the previous four years combined.
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