MEXICO CITY, MEXICO — Alejandro Rosales Castillo has been apprehended in Mexico in connection with the 2016 murder of Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le, the FBI announced Saturday.
Castillo, 27, was arrested Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pachuca, Hidalgo, by Mexican authorities in coordination with the FBI’s Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Mexico City. He had been a member of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since October 2017 and was the 516th person added to the list since its inception in 1950.
Investigation and Capture
Castillo is accused of the August 2016 killing of his former co-worker, 23-year-old Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le, in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to investigators, the victim disappeared after agreeing to meet Castillo to collect a $1,000 debt.
Le’s body was discovered on Aug. 17, 2016, in a wooded area in Cabarrus County with a gunshot wound to the head. Her vehicle was later located at a bus station in Phoenix, Arizona. Surveillance footage recorded Castillo crossing the border from Nogales, Arizona, into Mexico on Aug. 16, 2016, one day before the victim’s body was found.
The arrest was the result of a joint operation involving:
The FBI Charlotte Field Office
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD)
Agencia de Investigación Criminal-INTERPOL (AIC-INTERPOL)
Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC)
Legal Proceedings and Charges
Castillo faces a state charge of first-degree murder issued in Mecklenburg County on Nov. 2, 2016. Additionally, a federal arrest warrant was issued in February 2017 for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that Castillo is the fifth person from the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list to be captured since last year. This brings the total number of fugitives apprehended or located since the list began to 499 out of 537.
Extradition Status
Castillo is currently detained in Mexico City. Authorities stated that he is awaiting formal extradition proceedings to return to North Carolina to face the pending charges.
Law enforcement officials, including CMPD Chief Estella D. Patterson and FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr., noted that the capture followed nearly a decade of collaborative investigative work between local, federal, and international agencies.
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