Hollywood Murder: FBI’s Most Wanted List Grows Shorter

The feds have solved an East Hollywood murder, and now the FBI’s Most Wanted list grows shorter by one; the top one, in fact. On Sunday night, Philip Patrick Policarpio, aka “Sinister,” was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at Tijuana when he was taken into custody, says a report by Fox News. The man, a 39-year-old convicted felon, was wanted by the LAPD in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn baby in East Hollywood in April. He was captured by agents with the U.S. Customs Border Patrol less than two weeks after being added to the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives list. At the time of his arrest, Policarpio was attempting to return to the U.S. from Tijuana at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Police say the actual arrest occurred on U.S. soil. The FBI had announced his addition to the FBI’s Most Wanted list on May 19, along with 28-year-old Luis Macedo, who is still at large. In addition to the brutal murder, Policarpio is also being held on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

When the brutal crime occurred, Policarpio was already on parole for a 2001 conviction for assault with a firearm and other charges. “Sinister” is only one of his aliases. He is also known as “Bugsy” and “Sins,” as in “Sinister.” On April 12, he got into an argument with his pregnant girlfriend, Lauren Olguin, 32, while they were visiting a friend in a neighborhood in East Hollywood, according to a release from the LA Times homicide report. Olguin was reportedly playing cards with the friends when Policarpio apparently got angry and began beating Olguin in the face with his fists, then pulled out a handgun and shot her in the forehead. Olguin died instantly and Policarpio, who at the time was on parole for a 2001 conviction, went on the run, according to a report by an NBC Los Angeles affiliate station. The East Hollywood murder was not out of the realm of possibilities considering the man’s previous criminal activity. He’s known for violent behavior, according to FBI special agent Scott Garriola.

“His pattern is one of violence, and he is always armed. He is the definition of a continuing threat to the community.”

The FBI’s Most Wanted list was established in March 1950, and there has been a total of 508 people on the list since then. Of those, 475 have since been apprehended. More information will be provided in a press release by the FBI and local and other law enforcement on Tuesday morning.

In the previous charges, Policarpio fled to the Philippines after he was suspected of firing nine shots into another car in Burbank over a dispute that escalated. He was deported by officials in the Philippines to the U.S. the following year. When he was tried in the states, he was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released on parole in May 2015 and remained on parole at the time of the East Hollywood murder. Policarpio has a history in Las Vegas, Florida, and the Philippines, where he has family members, including multiple wives and children. In at least some of those locations, he was known as Paul Policarpio and Damon Hiromi Tanaka as well as his other aliases listed above.

Lauren Olguin’s mother, Jerilyn Olguin, expressed relief at finding out her daughter’s killer had been taken into custody.

“Although my daughter’s gone, my biggest fear was, ‘I hope he doesn’t do this to someone else.'”

A tattoo on Policarpio’ chest read, “Only God can judge me.” His ink neglected to mention that judges with the federal government as well as the city of Los Angeles also have that privilege.

[Photo by Nick Ut/AP Images]