DA Announces Fugitive Apprehension Section Arrest in 1980 Murder

Houston, TX - Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos announced the second arrest in less than a week by her Fugitive Apprehension Section of a man wanted for a 1980 murder. Epifaneo Jaimes Arroyo, 55, was arrested in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Wednesday evening. He successfully eluded authorities for over three decades, but DA Investigator Chuck Lowery refused to give up on his capture.

On July 12, 1980, Miguel Frias was partying with friends at the La Chancla Club in  orth Houston when an altercation between his group and another escalated. The fight continued in the parking lot after the nightclub closed. Arroyo and his brother pursued the victim two blocks from the club, where they were observed beating and stabbing the victim.

Investigator Lowery researched several law enforcement databases and public records, trying to find Arroyo and witnesses to the murder. Lowery's tenacity paid off, and he found the fugitive in Georgia. With the assistance of the Houston Police Department and Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, Arroyo was arrested late Wednesday. Kim Bryant, Extradition Administrator for the Harris County DA's Office, is coordinating his return to a Harris County courtroom.

DA Lykos was gratified by the Section's second murder arrest in less than a week, stating, "Dangerous felons have evaded authorities for years, but they don't know about our secret weapon-Investigator Chuck Lowery. He has been tracking down people who have avoided capture for decades and returning them to face justice. If you are a fugitive from Harris County, you might as well surrender now!"

The Fugitive Apprehension Section was formed by DA Lykos shortly after she took office in January 2009. Since the unit's formation, over forty murders and capital murderers have been arrested and returned to Harris County.