A Miami man was killed in 1996. His shooter was just found in Peru, officials say

James Schwarz was gunned down at a Miami gas station on Thanksgiving Day in 1996. Now, nearly three decades later, the man accused of killing him has finally been found — living under a false identity in Peru, authorities announced on Friday.

The shooting happened on November 28, 1996, around 11:30 p.m., at a gas station located at 3201 NW 79 St. Investigators with the then Metro-Dade Police Department say Schwarz and Christian Miguel Orosco had a “verbal altercation.”

A short time later, Orosco returned, pulled a gun, and shot Schwarz, 23, multiple times before fleeing.

Friends rushed Schwarz to Hialeah Hospital. He was later airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center but died.

An arrest warrant was issued for Orosco, who was 18 at the time. But by the time detectives identified him, he had already vanished — believed to have fled the country.

The last time Schwarz’s family saw him was during their Thanksgiving dinner.

“I didn’t even think once that something so tragic could happen on such a day,” Nicole Modrono, Shwarz’ sister told Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami this week. “But I didn’t get up, and I didn’t hug him and I didn’t kiss him goodbye.”

The case went cold until recently, when the Peruvian National Police authorities received a tip: a man working as an air traffic controller at Jorge Chavez International Airport under the name Eduardo Enrique Albarracin Trillo might actually be Orosco.

Peruvian authorities learned that Orosco was wanted by MDSO investigators, and they contacted the MDSO Homicide Bureau’s Cold Case Squad detectives.

Fingerprint analysis confirmed it — Orosco had assumed a new identity and hidden in plain sight for years.

According to Peruvian media outlet Latina Noticias, Orosco left the country as a teenager and traveled to the United States in search of a better life, only to become involved with gangs. After the killing of Schwarz, he returned to Peru and assumed a false identity.

He went on to build a normal life, eventually getting married and having two children.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office says he was taken into custody without incident by the Peruvian National Police.

Miami-Dade investigators are now in Peru, working to extradite Orosco back to the U.S., where he faces a charge of Second-Degree Murder.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office also worked with Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Department of Justice to make the arrest.

This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM.