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He killed a man in Gwinnett, then fled to Central America. 24 years later, he finally faced a Georgia jury

Before he left the country in 1996, a roommate said Hector Garay admitted to killing a father of five in front of his wife. In 2018, those words caught up to him.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — In 1996, a father of five and a successful business owner was killed in front of his wife during an attempted armed robbery. Nearly 24 years later, a Gwinnett County jury has found the gunman guilty of murder.

Gwinnett County prosecutors said that the gunman admitted to his roommate that he killed the victim in the case. But then he escaped the country. Only recently has he been detained and extradited back to the U.S. after a decades-long hiatus of justice.

Back in 1996, those who knew 60-year-old Adalberto Salina, the business owner who lost his life, said he lived to support his family.

"He was a very, very fine gentleman," Burton Hazel Rigs said. Hardworking. Familyman, Somebody that you were proud to know."

Burton Hazel Rigs owned a store next to Salinas' western shop in Chamblee. On the weekend, Salinas worked at the second business he owned.

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"It was his custom to work at the Buford Highway Flea Market Friday, Saturday and Sunday," former 11Alive reporter Steve Aveson said while covering the murder back in 1996. "And, yesterday, at 7 p.m. after closing, Mr. Salinas and his wife headed for home stopping along the way for a bite to eat."

Credit: File

On Jan. 21, 1996, the couple stopped for a Sunday tradition - a meal at Shoney's on Indian Trail off of I-85 in Gwinnett County. They returned home around 9 p.m. That's when the gunman tried forcing his way into the house.

"Mr. Salinas put up a scuffle," Gwinnett County Police Sgt. Dan Branch said. "The lone gunman fired several shots."

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\Detectives found shell casings by the front door and said one of the shots hit and killed Salinas. Then, the shooter escaped.

"A lone gunman wearing dark clothes and a black mask," Sgt. Branch said during an interview outside Salinas' home on the night of the murder. 

"That is the only description police have released of the killer," said an 11Alive reporter around the time of the murder. "If they know more, whether or not he was driving a vehicle and what might be the motive for the shooting, detectives haven't said."

This week, at trial, Gwinnett County prosecutors said Salinas was known to keep a large amount of cash. The day after the shooting, a person contacted detectives and said Hector Garay admitted to killing Salinas - adding that Garay had tried to recruit him to help with the robbery.

Police had what they needed. But they had one big problem - they couldn't find Garay.

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Prosecutors said he left behind his two children and a common-law wife headed for Texas - and eventually his home country of El Salvador. Garay lived there for 22 years. But his freedom came to an end in 2018 as he tried to cross the border from El Salvador into Honduras.

He was extradited by to the U.S. - to Georgia - where prosecutors said he testified that he was framed those many years ago. He said that witnesses threatened to kill him and his son if he spoke about the murder. He also claimed to have mental health problems.

But the jury still found Garay Guilty of murder on Thursday. He's expected to learn his fate during sentencing in early January.

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