A man who fought extradition from Mexico for two years has been charged in a 1995 Cicero double homicide, Cicero police announced at a news conference Friday afternoon, one day before the 30th anniversary of the fatal shootings.
Daniel Flores, 49, was arrested in February 2023 in Guanajuato, Mexico, where he fought extradition to the U.S. police said. He was brought to the U.S. and charged with two counts of first-degree murder Wednesday and was ordered held awaiting trial.
“For the past 30 years our detectives have been working diligently on this case,” said Cicero Police Supt. Thomas Boyle. “Their hard work has brought much-needed closure to the Fields family.”
On April 12, 1995, Flores allegedly shot brothers John Fields, 22, and Michael Fields, 19, in the 2900 block of 50th Court at 2 a.m. after an altercation, Cicero police said. John Fields had served in the Marines, and Michael Fields was an active-duty Marine at the time of his death.
Francisco Diaz, deputy superintendent of investigations with the Cicero Police Department, said Flores knew the Fields brothers because they lived in the same neighborhood and they’d gotten into previous altercations.
The case was reopened in 2013 after police say a key witness came forward. The witness was in Mexico with Flores, where Flores fled shortly after the shootings. A warrant for Flores’ arrest was issued in March 2016, authorities said.
“We had a hard time finding her because she was in Mexico with him,” Diaz said of the witness. “She was definitely on our radar.”
Several members of the Fields family stood with police during the news conference, but they didn’t speak to media.
“As former military personnel, I took this personally,” Diaz said. “It’s very rewarding for us, but most importantly, hopefully this brings some closure to the family.”
Flores is due back in court May 2.