‘Octopus Murders’ Suspects Returning To California
MIAMI -The suspect in a 1981 shooting that killed a Cabazon Band of Mission Indians tribal leader and two others was ordered today to be extradited from Florida to California for prosecution.
James “Jimmy” Hughes, 52, will be brought to California within the next 30 days, said Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office in Florida.
A Florida judge ruled that a warrant used to arrest Hughes was valid, she said.
“The procedure is for (California officials) to contact us and make the necessary arrangements and he will go back,” Chavez said.
Hughes faces three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy in the deaths of Ralph Arthur Boger, 42, Patricia Roberta Castro, 44, and Alfred Alvarez, 32, who was vice chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Tribal Council.
The three were found dead July 1, 1981, at 35040 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.
Hughes is accused of conspiring with Cabazon casino founder John Philip Nichols; his son, John Paul Nichols; and Glen Heggstad, who is a martial arts instructor at the Coachella Valley Judo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Palm Desert; and possibly others to keep the tribal leader from exposing alleged illegal activities of the elder Nichols, according to a court document.
Hughes was arrested in September in Miami as he was boarding a plane to Honduras, where he has been working for the past 15 years of a Christian preacher.
Hughes founded Jimmy Hughes Ministries, a nonprofit group that works in Honduras.
The California Attorney General’s Office is handling the case because Hughes is a distant cousin of District Attorney Rod Pacheco.
News Channel 3 is working to find when Jimmy Hughes will be booked into a Riverside County jail. Detectives tell News Channel 3 a trial against Hughes may take 2 years to begin.
Stay with News Channel 3 for more on this developing story.
