Watch CBS News

'America's Most Wanted' Fugitive Arrested For Murder Of Girlfriend 12 Years Ago

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A fugitive once featured on "America's Most Wanted" was in custody in Los Angeles Tuesday for allegedly killing his former girlfriend in Canada a dozen years ago.

Ninderjit Singh, a 33-year-old Indian national and legal resident of Canada, was arrested about 2 p.m. Friday near his home in the Riverside County community of San Jacinto, said Virginia Kice of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Singh was being detained in Los Angeles on "a provisional arrest warrant, the first step toward extraditing a fugitive," Kice said.

Singh allegedly shot and killed 18-year-old Poonam Randhawa in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1999. According to investigators with the Vancouver Police Department, Randhawa was last seen in a vehicle with Singh near her school. Her body was found a short time later on a nearby street.

Poonam Randhawa
(credit: U.S. Customs And Immigration Enforcement)

A break in the case came within the last two weeks, when ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents received information from Vancouver police detectives indicating that Singh, who works as a long-haul truck driver, might be in the Los Angeles area.

HSI agents located Singh, who had been making a delivery out of state, and began tracking his movements.

About 11:30 a.m. Friday, California Highway Patrol officers -- working with the HSI agents -- stopped Singh's big rig in Irvine and issued him a ticket, Kice said. Singh was then allowed to continue driving, and authorities followed him.

"Thumbprints taken during the traffic stop verified Singh was the murder suspect," Kice said. "After confirming Singh's identity with the Vancouver Police Department, HSI agents and local officers moved in to make the arrest."

Singh was featured on "America's Most Wanted" in July 2000.

"After more than a decade, this fugitive likely believed he was in the clear, but he underestimated the determination of Canadian and U.S. law enforcement," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for ICE HSI in Los Angeles.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.