After being charged with a strangulation murder in Northbrook in 2016 and spending eight years on the run, a 57-year-old man who had been on the U.S. Marshals “15 Most Wanted List” was apprehended in Mexico Monday, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The suspect, John Panaligan, was charged with the Dec. 7, 2016 murder of an attorney, Victor Jigar Patel of Prospect Heights, who was found strangled in his Northbrook office, said Northbrook Deputy Police Chief Marc Fainman Wednesday at a press conference held at Northbrook Police Station.
Panaligan appeared in court at Cook County’s Skokie courthouse for the first time in the case for a pretrial hearing on Wednesday afternoon, at approximately the same time as the press conference, and was represented by a public defender, court records show.
“It has been eight extremely hard years for the victim’s family. This is the first step in the first phase of them finding justice for their loved one,” Fainman said. “They are incredibly happy, but going through a wide range of emotions as you can imagine, as anybody would in this situation.”
Panaligan’s motive for the murder stemmed from the results of a lawsuit, Fainman said. Patel’s client had been suing Panaligan and three other defendants in a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court in 2009.
Two days after Patel was killed, Panaligan fled to Canada with a firearm, and was deported when he was caught smuggling the weapon into the country, according to Fainman.
Law enforcement authorities believed Panaligan might have fled the country by the time U.S. Marshals placed him on the 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to previous reporting. Federal authorities also offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Mexican authorities arrested Panaligan on Monday in Tepic, Mexico. He arrived at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday and subsequently was taken into custody.
Kevin Tanaka / Chicago Tribune
John G. Panaligan, whose last known address was in Aurora, was charged with the 2016 murder of Jigar K. Patel in Northbrook. Panaligan was arrested on Oct. 21 in Mexico and arrived at O’Hare International Airport the following day. (Kevin Tanaka / Chicago Tribune)
LaDon Reynolds, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois and previously the Oak Park police chief, said he did not have information on whether the reward was awarded.
Fainman said while Panaligan was a fugitive, “it didn’t seem like he was living a very comfortable life, and he was certainly changing locations a lot, which made it very difficult for investigators to stay behind him.”
Fainman said that it appeared that Panaligan received some assistance while he was a fugitive in Mexico. Investigators previously found that Panaligan received help from associates who sent money to Durango, Mexico.
“Although I never met him personally, I understand that Jigar Patel was a charismatic and incredibly intelligent young attorney,” Fainman said. “We are grateful to everyone that assisted in making this arrest possible and beginning the process of justice for Jigar Patel and his family.”
Fainman said the police department was assisted by the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force, the Great Lakes Regional Task Force and the U.S. Marshals in the investigation.
Reynolds and Fainman assured that even though the investigation took years to find Panaligan, they never lost hope.
“The bottom line is if you’re a fugitive from justice and you think you are going to escape, you will not,” Reynolds said. “You will be apprehended and you will be brought in by the Marshals service.”
Panaligan will return to the Skokie Courthouse for his next court hearing on Nov. 13, while remaining under custody. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt.
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