Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 18, 2026 — Jalisco state police arrested a 41-year-old Los Angeles man sought by U.S. Marshals in a second-degree murder case after tracing him to a beach access road in Puerto Vallarta’s Hotel Zone, the state security agency announced Tuesday.
The man was identified in the Jalisco police announcement as Antoni III Covarrubias. Officers located him near Camino a Playa del Holi and Avenida Francisco Medina Ascencio, a heavily traveled junction on the city’s main north-south corridor. Although early accounts placed the arrest in the Hotel Zone, authorities did not identify a hotel or say Covarrubias had been staying at one.
Investigators used the state drone unit, cyber police and a mobile C2 command center to confirm his location. Police said Covarrubias acted evasively when officers approached him.
During a search, officers allegedly recovered five packets containing about 170 grams of a substance believed to be marijuana. They also reported finding 10 doses of suspected crystal methamphetamine weighing about four grams. The substances were described as apparent drugs, and no laboratory results were announced.
State authorities said they were coordinating with U.S. Marshals to begin the process of returning Covarrubias to the United States. No transfer date was disclosed, and Mexican officials did not say whether he had appeared before migration or judicial authorities.
The announcement also omitted the U.S. jurisdiction, victim, date, and circumstances behind the murder allegation. The information released Tuesday was too limited to match the allegation confidently to a particular U.S. court case.
This is the second publicly announced Puerto Vallarta case since June involving a Los Angeles homicide suspect located through a U.S. Marshals alert. On June 4, Jalisco police arrested a 21-year-old Los Angeles man in Las Palmas who was wanted in the United States on allegations including homicide, attempted homicide, and firearm discharge.
