Two men suspected of murdering a Hailey man earlier this month have apparently fled to Mexico, and Gooding County authorities are working to bring them back to the United States.
"The U.S. Marshal's Office or the FBI can go into Mexico to get them," Gooding County Sheriff Shaun Gough said Tuesday. "It sounds easy, but easy is about 10 days worth of paperwork."
Authorities are seeking two Gooding men, who Gough said were illegal immigrants and former associates of murder victim Gustavo Flores-Quintana, 30, who was found with a gunshot wound in the back of his head on Nov. 9 near the Big Wood River about a mile north of Gooding.
The Gooding County Sheriff's Office has identified the suspects as Carlos Villanueva-Martinez, 37, and Jesus Valencia-Bolanos, 23.
Gough described the execution-style murder of Flores-Quintana as a "drug deal gone bad."
"They're the guys who did it," Gough said. "They told enough people around town that they did it, but proving it in court is another thing."
Gough said authorities have tracked the movement of the suspects to south of San Diego, from where he believes the men crossed the border.
"We're pretty sure those guys are in Mexico—we're just trying to get them back," Gough said.
The sheriff said he doesn't believe the murder is connected to the victim's older brother, Jorge Gustavo-Flores, who is incarcerated on drug and escape charges at the Idaho state penitentiary.
"I wouldn't think so at all," Gough said. "His brother's been gone too long."
Jorge Gustavo-Flores, 32, also faces a charge of delivery of methamphetamine in Blaine County. He was one of 13 suspects indicted by a Blaine County grand jury following a major countywide drug bust last April.
Gustavo Flores-Quintana had no prior drug convictions, but had been arrested four times in Gooding County on charges of driving under the influence.
Carlos Villanueva-Martinez
Jesus Valencia-Bolanos
