Teens Accused In Hemet Murder Captured

HEMET – Police in Hemet announced the arrest of a teenage fugitive suspected in the shooting death of a boy whose body was burned in a bonfire last November.

Jose Manuel Campos and his girlfriend Felicia Sharp, who were both 17 at the time of the murder, were picked up in Mexico and were expected to be brought back to Riverside County Wednesday evening, said Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart.

“It’s good news in a bad case,” Wisehart told City News Service.

The lieutenant was not sure where in Mexico the teens were arrested.

They were being sought in connection with the death of 17-year-old Adrian Rios, who was killed with a .22-caliber pistol and burned in a bonfire in Hemet.

Campos, who was named in a $2 million warrant disappeared the night after a huge bonfire was spotted at a home on Bluejay Way last Nov. 15.

The crime came to light Nov. 16, when the victim’s mother went to the home and looked around, spotting what she believed to be her son’s sneaker.

Police later found a fire pit and shallow grave containing what were subsequently determined to be Rios’ remains. They also found drag marks in the backyard.

Sharp had been questioned early in the investigation but was allowed to leave. She then disappeared.

Campos’ parents were detained but were never charged.

Neighbors reported a powerful stench emanating from the Sunday night bonfire, which was set after several youths gathered at the house, reportedly to watch a football game, according to police.

Campos apparently lived at the home on Bluejay Way, but neighbors said the family moved out about a week before the bonfire.

Police have said they believe at least six people were at the house around the time Rios was killed.

Investigators who searched the property recovered a machete, a .22-caliber shell, a shovel, butcher knives, a gas canister, a partially burned T-shirt, pieces of rope, a sock, a yellow metal hoop earring and a Hemet Police Department ticket issued to Jose Campos.