Man wanted in 1996 Herndon homicide found in Ohio jail

Herndon police have finally caught up with a suspect in a 1996 homicide after he was identified in Ohio prior to his release from jail there last week.

Police said Joseph Real, 35, was about to be released from jail in Crawford County, Ohio, when it was discovered that he was wanted in Northern Virginia. Real had been using the alias "Fidel Santacruz" since he was arrested for felonious assault in Ohio in November 2009.

Lieutenant Jeff Coulter, of the Herndon Police Department, said warrants for Real’s arrest were issued in 1996 after he allegedly stabbed a co-worker during a fight.

Coulter said police found Wilfredo Argumedo, 29, suffering from stab wounds in the 900 block of Alabama Drive at about 11 p.m. on May 17, 1996, after getting a call about a malicious wounding. Argumedo was taken to Reston Hospital but later died.

Police identified Real as a suspect almost immediately, but he fled and wasn’t found until last week. Reston police detectives extradited Real from Ohio to Virginia on Friday, almost exactly 14 years from the date of the stabbing.

Real is being held without bond in the Fairfax County jail, police said.

Police ask anyone who witnessed the crime or has additional information about Real to call Detective Williams at 703-435-6886 or e-mail him.

-- Josh White