A man who had been on the run for 15 years after being charged in a fatal collision near Hickory was apprehended Friday in California, after the FBI located him living under an alias.
Miguel Lopez Garcia was arrested Friday by Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies in Palmdale, CA after FBI analysts located him living there under the name Rene Zavala. Garcia disappeared shortly after a February 2000 accident on US 321 in Catawba County that killed Troy Setliff II of Conover.
On February 10, 2000, Garcia was driving on US 321 south of Hickory near NC 127 when he collided with a vehicle driven by Daniel Robert Hooper. Setliff was the passenger in Hooper’s car and was killed as a result of the accident. Garcia and Hooper were both admitted to Frye Regional Medical Center for their injuries. The NC Highway Patrol charged Garcia with driving while intoxicated, having an open container in his vehicle and death by motor vehicle. However, Garcia left the hospital and disappeared before he could face the charges.
Analysts from the FBI Criminal Investigation Division recently connected Garcia’s case to the man living as Rene Zavala while investigating unsolved homicide cases. Under the name Rene Zavala, Garcia has also been wanted by the Hickory Police since 2004 for felony conspiracy to traffick marijuana.
Garcia will face extradition proceedings for a return to North Carolina to be prosecuted.
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