After his criminal tendencies allegedly turned violent, an Arizona guy with a history of con artists was taken into custody.
Derek Bollwinkel was extradited from Salt Lake City, Utah, and arrested on June 2; his age was not disclosed.
Court filings claim that Bollwinkel fled Arizona following the alleged February murder of his former neighbor, 82-year-old Linda Baran.
According to the police, Baran was shot and killed on February 11 while her hands were raised in the air, seemingly in surrender, and was discovered dead in her car.
Bollwinkel lived next door to Baran until he was evicted three weeks before she passed away, according to court records.
According to detectives, Bollwinkel had been “aggressively asking her for money” since Baran was last seen alive on February 9. On the day of Baran’s murder, the suspect was seen parking his vehicle close to her home.
After her relatives asked for a welfare check, Baran was located. Baran was in the rear seat of her car in the garage when the police arrived.
Baran was fatally shot in the left side, according to court records the station was able to collect. When she was shot, police found that her hands were raised in a “surrender” position.
Bollwinkel reportedly ran out of the house and back to his van at around 7 p.m. after a neighbor observed him pull up at around 6:15 p.m. Then he took off in his car.
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According to the police, Bollwinkel was at the scene according to mobile data.
About 20 minutes after the alleged murder, Bollwinkel was subsequently observed using Baran’s debit card at an ATM, per the court records. Allegedly, he tried to take out $10,000. He was able to withdraw $4,000.
How Bollwinkel was located in Salt Lake City was not disclosed by the police. Upon his arrival at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the suspect was taken into custody and placed under a $1 million cash bond at the Maricopa County Jail. He was accused of kidnapping, first-degree murder, and credit card fraud.
In the past, Bollwinkle and his wife were involved in a home scheme for which they were sued for consumer fraud. Later, he was found guilty of forgery and criminal impersonation and sentenced to prison.
