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Last updated on Friday, April 3, 2015
(BLOOMINGTON) - Eduardo Bermejo was released from custody during a court hearing Tuesday night.
Bloomington police had arrested the wrong man.
Bloomington police say they arrested the man the Indianapolis Metro Police Department wanted them to get. But Indianapolis police say latent fingerprints determined the man arrested was not the homicide suspect they have been looking for.
A man named Rosendo Molina-Castro faces charges of murder and carrying a handgun without a license in connection with a Sept. 6, 2009, shooting outside the Los Compadres Supermarket at West 38th Street and North High School Road in Indianapolis.
The Sunday afternoon shooting left one man dead and three others injured.
The IMPD asked Bloomington police to find and arrest their murder suspect, working from a tip that he was working in the kitchen of the Office Lounge on East Third Street.
A man who police say first identified himself as Molina-Castro, and then told police his name was Eduardo Bermejo, was arrested on the murder warrant.
According to Bloomington Police Department Capt. Joe Qualters, officers went to the eastside bar and saw a man who matched a physical description and photograph of the suspect.
"When approached and asked if his name was Rosendo Molina-Castro, he replied 'yes' and he was informed that the officers needed to speak with him further about an outstanding warrant. He then stated that his name was actually Eduardo Bermejo," Qualters said in an email. "He also gave police three different dates of birth. The first two did not yield any results in an Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles database. The third date of birth gave police the name "Eduardo Eric Bermejo Cruz. Based on the initial reply of 'yes' that he was Rosendo Molina-Castro and photo comparisons to the individual being detained by the officers on the scene, the individual was arrested and held for Marion County authorities."
He appeared in court for an initial hearing Thursday afternoon. He told Monroe County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff his name was Eduardo Bermejo not Rosendo Molina-Castro.
Monroe County Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Kehr asked the judge to release him on the charge of murder.
Bermejo was released from custody on his own recognizance but he still faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana, and is scheduled to return to court in May.
Kehr apologized to Bermejo's ex-wife, daughter and other supporters outside the courtroom.
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