Emigdio Preciado Jr., 40, an accused Southside Whittier gang member, faces charges including attempted murder on a peace officer

Emigdio Preciado Jr., 40, an accused Southside Whittier gang member, faces charges including attempted murder on a peace officer, conspiracy to commit a crime, carrying a loaded firearm and having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, according to court records. He was set for arraignment Thursday in Whittier Superior Court but his hearing was pushed to Feb. 19. If convicted he faces multiple life terms in prison, prosecutors said. "It's time he faces the consequences for his actions," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Cain, a detective on the case. "Mexican authorities and the FBI did an outstanding job locating him." Preciado was shackled when he appeared in court Thursday, wearing a beige jumpsuit. His family filled one side of the courtroom while sheriff's deputies filled the other.
Media outlets' cameras waited to capture Preciado's image but Commissioner Loren Di Frank said they could not take pictures of his face. Many members of the Preciado family began weeping when Preciado entered the courtroom. His sister, Rosie Preciado, said this is the first time she has seen him in years. "We all know he's innocent," she said. "He has a really big heart. He would not harm anybody." His niece became so upset she had to leave the courtroom.
On Sept. 5, 2000, Preciado was allegedly riding in a van with three other men when they were pulled over for a traffic stop by deputies David Timberlake and Michael Schaap. Before the deputies could get out of their car, they were sprayed from inside the van with bullets from an AK-47. The van then sped away.

Timberlake escaped without injury but Schaap was struck in the forehead. He survived but underwent intensive therapy to relearn how to walk and talk.

Schaap was in attendance Thursday but declined to speak with reporters.

Carlos Albert Gutierrez, Jose Leonchio Guardado and Omar Jimenez were since arrested, charged and convicted but Preciado remained at large. He was placed on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" fugitives list, while Los Angeles County and the FBI offered tens of thousands of dollars in reward for tips leading to his arrest.

In July, tipsters led authorities to Corral Piedras, a rural area near Yagos, in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Preciado had been living as a fisherman under the alias Regalo Castaneda-Castaneda. He was on his way to a party when Mexican authorities arrested him.

Preciado was extradited and brought back to the United States this week.

He is being held in lieu of $10 million bail. Bail was initially $1 million but Deputy District Attorney Frank Tavelman said Preciado was a significant flight risk and requested the increase, which Di Frank granted.