Roberto Valdez-Calixto, now 45, formerly of Harvard, was arrested in October in Mexico and extradited last week to the United States to face murder charges for a February 2005 incident in Harvard. | Provided Photo/Graphic

A judge denied pre-trial release to McHenry County’s number one most wanted fugitive after he was captured while on the run for nearly 20 years in a brutal murder in Harvard.

Roberto Valdez-Calixto, now 45, formerly of Harvard, was indicted by a grand jury in March 2005 on four counts of first-degree murder and four counts of mob action.

A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Valdez-Calixto, who was 25 at the time, murdered Cecilio Hernandez in Harvard on February 19, 2005.

Valdez-Calixto stabbed Hernandez and struck him in the head with a beer bottle, leaving him dead, the complaint said.

The complaint said Valdez-Calixto acted together with Marciano Valdez, Juan Rivera-Garcia and Jose Santos Valdez-Calixto in the murder.

McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney William Bruce called the murder “brutal” and said Hernandez suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma in the “vicious mob action beating.”

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A fight broke out between the four suspects, who were armed with weapons, and another group while they were at a residence in the 100 block of East Park Street in Harvard.

A neighbor witnessed Hernandez being held down by a suspect while two others made “punching or thrusting movements” into the victim’s chest, Bruce said.

Hernandez was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his stab wounds to the chest and other areas of his body, along with blunt force trauma to the head. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Bruce said officers arrested Valdez, Rivera-Garcia and Santos Valdez-Calixto shortly after the incident but Valdez-Calixto escaped the area on foot.

Valdez-Calixto fled to Mexico after the Harvard murder, Bruce said.

An arrest warrant carrying a $1 million bond was issued for Valdez-Calixto and the man was eventually placed on the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office’s fugitive list as their number one most wanted.

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In 2008, federal authorities issued an arrest warrant for Valdez-Calixto and said in court documents that he traveled out of the area on March 22, 2005, to avoid prosecution for his charges.

Valdez-Calixto remained in Mexico until his arrest in October, Bruce said. He was extradited to the United States last week.

Jail records show Valdez-Calixto was taken into the custody of the McHenry County Jail on Monday.

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Valdez-Calixto pending trial, calling him a real and present danger to the community as well as a flight risk.

McHenry County Judge Christopher Harmon granted the petition during a court hearing this week and remanded Valdez-Calixto to the McHenry County Jail.

The judge said Valdez-Calixto poses a real and present risk of willful flight and that he would still be in Mexico if not for his arrest and extradition to the United States.

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An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.