RPD Announces the Apprehension of Suspect in 1998 Homicide.

Reading, PA: The Reading Police Department Criminal Investigations Division is releasing the following information related to a drive-by shooting that occurred on August 2, 1998:
On or about Friday, August 18th, 2023, members of the U.S. Marshalls Office and local law enforcement took 43-year-old Israel Mendoza into custody in Jalisco, Mexico, in connection to the homicide of Michele Lutz, who was shot in the back and killed on Front and Elm Street on August 2, 1998.

The investigation at the time of the incident yielded four suspects; Placido Rodriguez, Joshua Ramirez, Israel Mendoza, and Robert Radhames-Herrera. In 1998, Rodriguez and Ramirez were arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiracy of 3rd-degree murder. Both suspects were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.

Mendoza is now in custody, but Radhames-Herrera remains at large. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact The Reading Police Department at (610)-655-6116 or Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.