TV Rerun Leads Police to Suspect After 29 Years

A rerun of an old crime-show episode generated the tip that police say led them to a man they had been trying to find for nearly three decades in connection with a fatal 1997 hit-and-run in Des Moines, Iowa.

Leslie Ruby, 64, died on Sept. 29, 1997, after he was struck outside his east-side home. Police identified Gerardo Garcia-Michel, then 28, as the suspected driver, but investigators said he left Iowa before officers could arrest him.

Police Had a Suspect but Could Not Find Him

Investigators recovered the vehicle involved in the crash and developed evidence that led them to Garcia-Michel, according to Des Moines police.

A warrant for vehicular homicide was issued in 1998, but efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. That same year, the case was featured on America’s Most Wanted in an attempt to generate information about his whereabouts.

The original broadcast produced tips but did not result in an arrest. As years passed, investigators exhausted their leads and the case went cold.

A Rerun Reached the Right Viewer

Almost 29 years later, the old episode aired again.

Police say a viewer in New Jersey saw the rerun and thought the wanted man might be his neighbor. The viewer submitted a Crime Stoppers tip on Aug. 4, giving investigators a new location to check.

Des Moines police worked with authorities in New Jersey to investigate the tip. U.S. Marshals arrested Garcia-Michel in Ocean County on Aug. 26.

He remained in custody in New Jersey while Iowa authorities worked through the extradition process.

Arrest Announced on the Anniversary

Des Moines police announced the breakthrough on Sept. 29, 2026, exactly 29 years after Ruby died.

Ruby had been returning home on a lawn mower after cutting his daughter’s grass when he was struck, according to police. He was a Korean War veteran, retiree and grandfather.

Police emphasized that the age of the case did not lessen the importance of finding answers for Ruby’s family.

An Old Broadcast Gets a Second Chance

Cold cases are often reopened because of new DNA testing, advances in forensic science or a newly cooperative witness. This case followed a different path.

The evidence pointing investigators toward a suspect had existed for years. What police lacked was his location.

A television program first aired in 1998 eventually reached someone with useful information when the episode was shown again decades later. That single recognition connected an old warrant in Iowa to a man living in New Jersey.

Garcia-Michel has not been convicted in the case, and court proceedings will determine the outcome of the charge. But for investigators, the rerun transformed a case that had been stalled for almost 29 years into an active prosecution with a suspect finally in custody.

Extradition Is the Next Step

Because Garcia-Michel was arrested in New Jersey, he must be returned to Iowa before the old vehicular-homicide case can move forward there. Extradition can involve court filings and coordination between states, even when an arrest warrant has existed for years.

Police have not said whether Garcia-Michel will challenge his return to Iowa or what defense he may raise once the case reaches court. The arrest resolves the long search for the suspect, but it does not resolve the criminal charge itself.

For Ruby’s family, the timing of the announcement added another layer to the breakthrough. Police disclosed the arrest on the anniversary of his death, turning a date associated with decades of unanswered questions into the date authorities could finally say the man they had sought was in custody.

The case also shows why old warrants and public appeals can remain useful long after an investigation appears dormant. A viewer did not uncover new forensic evidence; the viewer supplied location information that investigators had lacked. That was enough to give police a path back into a case that had otherwise remained frozen for years.

References: America’s Most Wanted Led to Arrest in Hit-and-Run Years Later | TV Show Helps Des Moines Police Close 1997 Cold Case | Tip From America’s Most Wanted Rerun Leads to Arrest in 1997 Des Moines Hit-and-Run

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