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RENO, NEV---A prominent Las Vegas businessman wanted for questioning in the murder of his estranged wife and shooting of a Reno Family Court judge surrendered to Mexican Immigration authorities without incident in the lobby of a hotel in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico early Friday.
Darren Roy Mack, 45, had been the subject of an extensive international manhunt since June 12 when he allegedly murdered his ex-spouse, Charla Mack, 39, and seriously wounded Washoe County Family Court Judge Chuck Weller. He has not been charged in either incident.
FBI agents and Mexican Immigration officials transported Mack back to Nevada.
At a news conference Friday, police chief Michael Poehlman said that Mack had contacted the Washoe County district attorney's office earlier this week and expressed a desire to surrender. Mack was supposed to surrender at the U.S. consulate in Puerto Vallarta but failed to appear.
The body of Mack's wife was found June 12 in the garage of his town house. Later that day, Weller was shot as he stood near a window in the courthouse. Weller, 53, was shot four times in the chest and has been recovering under guard. He had been handling the couple's divorce.
Mack is a wealthy pawnbroker with a reported net worth of $9.4 million.
Weller, elected in 2004, has been labeled as "abusive" and is said to decide cases before he hears the evidence. He has been called the worst judge in America by litigants who appear before him but fellow jurists and lawyers heap accolades on him. 6-23-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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