A 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with the death of a sheriff’s deputy nearly a decade a go.
On Jan. 20, 2017, the Oregon State Police learned that Alfredo De Jesus Ascencio was arrested in the Mexican state of Puebla on an arrest warrant for the death of Marion County Deputy Kelly Fredinburg and another man in June of 2007.
On June 16, 2007 Deputy Fredinburg was enroute to an emergency call southbound on Highway 99E north of Gervais when his patrol car was struck head-on by a northbound vehicle driven by De Jesus Ascencio. Deputy Fredinburg’s patrol car caught fire and he was pronounced deceased at the scene. Deputy Fredinburg joined the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in August 2006 after working the previous six years for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. He was 33 years old when he died.
De Jesus Ascencio, who was 20 years of age at the time of the crash, was treated for critical injuries at a Portland-area hospital. De Jesus Ascencio had two passengers one of which died the next day at a Portland area hospital. He was identified as nineteen year old Oscar Ascencio Amaya.
Oregon State Police investigated the crash and received an indictment on August 3rd, 2007 for two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide on De Jesus Ascencio. It was learned he fled the US to Mexico to avoid prosecution around the time of the indictment.
De Jesus Ascencio was believed to be hiding in Mexico and there was no chance of him being returned to the US due to the limitations in the extradition treaty. In 2010 Oregon prosecutors sought an Article 4 prosecution which allows certain crimes committed in the US to be prosecuted by the Mexican judicial system.
In 2010, OSP investigators traveled to Mexico and filed the Article 4 paperwork in front of the Procurador General de la República (PGR), which is the equivalent of the Attorney General’s Office in the US, and presented them with all police reports translated into Spanish. The case went to a Mexican federal judge for review. In 2011, OSP learned that the judge had approved the Article 4 paperwork and a warrant was issue for De Jesus Ascencio’s arrest. Since that time, OSP, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and FBI have collaborated in efforts in locating De Jesus Ascencio.
Interpol, in coordination with FBI agents working in Mexico and in Salem, determined De Jesus Ascencio’s location. On January 20, 2017, Interpol confirmed the arrest to the FBI. He is currently being held in custody while the Article 4 process continues.
Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers commented today saying, “It has been nearly 10 years since the tragic loss of Deputy Kelly Fredinburg. While no one has ever given up hope that the individual responsible for this tragedy would be apprehended, it has been an emotional, trying and difficult journey to reach this point. I would like to thank the Marion County District Attorney’s Office and the Oregon State Police for their tenacity with this investigation. I also express my heartfelt condolences to the Fredinburg family, as this capture may bring relief, but also a renewed sense of loss. My sincere hope is for justice and healing as this case proceeds ahead.”
