Suspect in 30-year-old attempted murder case finally back in Texas

Suspect in 30-year-old attempted murder case finally back in Texas two years after arrest in El Salvador Two years after being arrested in El Salvador for a 3-decades old cold case, Luis Calderon is once again behind bars in Galveston County. Calderon is a Galveston County kidnapping and attempted murder suspect accused of slitting his girlfriend’s throat and leaving her for dead, had been on the run for 29 years was arrested in April 2020. But, that arrest didn’t bring him before justice in Texas. It took another two years before Calderon was extradited back to Texas. Under escort by cold-case detective Lt. Tommy Hansen and members of the sheriff’s office warrant division, Calderon arrived at the Galveston County jail Tuesday (2/22/2022) night. He is charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. Bonds were set at $70,000 but because he jumped bail 30 years ago and an immigration hold and a federal fleeing justice warrant, bond was denied. Calderon had been on the run since 1991 after he skipped bail in the case involving the kidnapping and attempted murder of his girlfriend at the time Diane Sanchez. Galveston County Sheriff's Office officials said Calderon was able to get out of jail because a judge granted a bond reduction request in 1991 that allowed him to be released even as prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk. In 2019, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Tommy Hansen - the cold case detective - tracked Calderon down in El Salvador where the suspect had family connections. Still, it would be almost another year before Hansen would be able to get Calderon into custody. With the assistance of the FBI, the US Department of Justice, Interpol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Galveston County Calderon was apprehended in El Salvador on Feb. 11, 2020. Calderon was a jail in El Salvador awaiting extradition back to the United States ever since. Hansen said the process just to get Calderon back into Texas was an ordeal in itself. Hansen and Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset will provide details of the process during a press conference at the sheriff’s office Wednesday afternoon. While she didn’t speak during the 2020 press conference announcing Calderon’s arrest, Diane Sanchez’s daughters Angela Cantu - was 13 when her mother was kidnapped and left for dead - and April Rojas was 9 at the time, spoke for their mother. They spoke about how their mom may have never survived if it had not been for Earl Pugh. The hotshot driver happened to find her only because he was turning around to head back to Galveston because of truck problems. i45NOW will cover the press conference live scheduled for 1 PM.