A Mesa man wanted on a first-degree murder charge out of Maricopa County was taken into custody last weekend in Cochise County when federal authorities detained him at the Douglas Port of Entry (POE).
The Douglas Police Department was dispatched to the POE at 7:12 p.m. June 13 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials encountered Julio Cesar Tabullo at the border. According to Chief Craig Fullen, his officers verified Tabullo’s identity, then booked him into the Cochise County jail after confirming the nationwide arrest warrant.
Tabullo, 19, was initially held in the county jail in Bisbee on $1 million bail. He was released June 15 to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and remains at the MCSO jail in Phoenix. It’s unclear whether he was attempting to leave the United States or crossing back from Mexico.
Limited information is available about the case against Tabullo, but Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed he and co-defendant Alberto Rodriguez Salazar of Mesa are each charged with one count of first-degree murder during the commission of a crime. The offense date is listed on court records as June 8.
Salazar, 20, is also charged with a probation violation. He has been in the Maricopa County jail since June 13 and had his initial court appearance that sane day.
Meanwhile, Tabullo had his initial appearance late Monday. Both men are scheduled to have preliminary hearings in the next few days.