SUSPECT APPREHENDED, EXTRADITED FOR ROLE IN 2009 HOMICIDE
The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office has announced that thirty-four-year-old Paulo Ramirez Luna has been apprehended in Mexico in connection with the 2009 murder of 16-year-old Tyler Tenorio in the city of Santa Cruz.
On October 16, 2009, Tenorio, a Junior at Santa Cruz High, was stabbed to death outside a convenience store near Chestnut and Laurel streets. Officers from the Santa Cruz Police Department responded to the scene and found Tenorio laying on the ground suffering from multiple stab wounds to his upper torso. Despite attempted life-saving measures, emergency medical personnel pronounced Tenorio dead at the scene.
Following a thorough investigation and witness interviews, Santa Cruz Police Detectives identified Luna as a suspect connected to the murder. After the murder, Luna, a Mexican citizen, fled to Mexico. The Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office, working with officials in Mexico, successfully extradited Luna back to the United States to face charges of murder. On August 10, 2020, Santa Cruz District Attorney Inspector Henry Montes, working closely with the United States Marshals, INTERPOL, and Mexican authorities, helped facilitate the capture of Luna from Mexico. Luna’s extradition comes 18 months after the apprehension and extradition of Ivan Tapia Ramirez, another charged defendant in the same murder, who also fled to Mexico.
Luna is currently being held in custody on charges of murder and is awaiting arraignment in the Santa Cruz Superior Court.
