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Valley murder suspect arrested near D.C.
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Lazar Yousif Lazar, who faces a first-degree murder charge in the Valley, was arrested Saturday when he returned to the United States from Iraq.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, Maricopa County Superior Court issued a warrant for Lazar in March after he failed to appear in court for charges of first-degree murder, assisting a criminal street gang, aggravated assault and robbery.
Lazar was sought for his alleged involvement with a criminal syndicate. Among other charges, that group is accused of plotting to kill an Arizona Department of Public Safety investigator and bury his body in the desert.
The U.S. Marshals issued an Interpol Red Notice on Lazar. He was tracked through Europe and then Iraq, where he has family.
Iraqi law enforcement ultimately took Lazar into custody, and he voluntarily returned to the United States.
“This suspect was an alleged key component behind a criminal street gang working in the Valley that was responsible for a virtual crime wave, including murder. DPS investigators played an active role in shutting down the syndicate. We congratulate the Marshals Service for their excellent investigation resulting in Lazar returning to this country to answer for his alleged crimes," said Roger Vanderpool, director of the Department of Public Safety, said in the release.
When Lazar’s plane landed Saturday at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., he was arrested by deputy U.S. Marshals. He is in a District of Columbia jail until he can be returned to Arizona.
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