Mexican Chef Deported From LA To Face Murder Charges

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Mexican chef who had been twice deported is being sent back to Mexico to face charges that he fatally stabbed a woman with a sushi knife.

Federal officials say 42-year-old Julio Cesar Reyes-Rodriguez was handed over to Mexican authorities Tuesday, less than two weeks after his capture in Los Angeles.

According to investigators, Reyes-Rodriguez fatally stabbed Claudia Contreras Mendieta, 36, during an argument in a taxi in Mexico City.

He is also accused of stabbing the cabdriver during the Feb. 1 attack.

Law enforcement officers captured Reyes-Rodriguez on July 1 outside an apartment where he had been hiding and took him into custody.

The suspect's only prior criminal conviction in the U.S. was 13 years ago for driving under the influence.

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