More than 16 years after a man was found shot to death in a canal in Broward County, one of the suspects allegedly responsible has been arrested, authorities said.
Sergio Kadafi Perera-Marenco, 34, was arrested in Fort Lauderdale last week in connection with the Jan. 14, 2007 killing of 35-year-old Jose Stanley Cuellar Pineda, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said Wednesday.
Officials said Cuellar Pineda was found shot to death in a canal in the 4300 block of Southwest 25th Street in unincorporated central Broward.
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Cuellar had arrived at the area in a car with two other men. According to detectives, one of the men stepped out of the car and walked away.
Moments later the second man shot Cuellar to death. The first man returned to the vehicle, and they fled the scene.
For years homicide detectives continued investigating the case but as time went by, the case turned cold.
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In December of 2021, BSO Cold Case Unit detectives working with the FBI and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reopened the case in December 2021 and determined all three males were members of the MS-13 gang.
Detectives identified Perera-Marenco as one of the two suspects involved in the homicide. He was arrested and booked into jail on a first-degree murder charge.
The second suspect is still at large.
Anyone with information is asked to call BSO at 954-321-4376.
