FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Edgardo Luis Perez, 44, evaded capture for nearly 25 years.
Perez, who is accused of killing Gordon Machek, 56, of Farmington Hills back in 2001, has been arrested in Guatemala and extradited back to Michigan.
The 44-year-old, who appears to be smiling in his booking photo, also smiled during his arraignment Friday (July 10), where he was denied bond.
“Eddie Perez is the Devil himself,” said Sue Macri, a close friend of Machek’s. “He is evil and killed a wonderful, kind, giving, gentle man.”
“I just thank Farmington Hills Police and the FBI for catching this monster,” Vic Macri said.
Perez is charged with felony murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. Words investigators have used to describe him have been “calculated” and “cunning.”
“Anyone who’s been on the run for 25 years is going to be shocked that we ultimately found him,” Farmington Hills police Chief John Piggott said. “He lived the life of someone who was on the run, so I hope that he was extremely shocked, and I hope that he’s been thinking about this nonstop.”
The murder investigation and evidence
Farmington Hills Police said the case began as a missing person’s report in October 2001, after Machek’s partner, Jim Johnson, became worried when he couldn’t reach him. Johnson said he then received alerts about suspicious credit card activity tied to Mexico.
“When I got the call from Jim, I was the one that went over to the house,” said Sue Macri. “We were concerned that because Gordon was always working in the yard, that he might have fallen. I checked all the property and couldn’t find him. But I also had Jim on the phone with me and went through the house.”
Police also checked Machek’s home and did not immediately see obvious signs of a crime scene, Piggott said, explaining that officers at the time were unfamiliar with what was normal for the household.
“When Mr. Johnson returned home a few days later, it was perfectly clear to him that something very unusual had taken place inside of that home,” Piggott said.
Investigators said Machek was last known to be spending time with Perez on Oct. 20, 2001, after the two met at a gym. Perez had allegedly gained his trust over weeks prior.
Machek was reported missing Oct. 22. Police later determined that he had been murdered, though his body was never found.
Federal authorities said DNA evidence later recovered linked Perez to the homicide; the FBI said that link was confirmed in 2003.
Investigators also said Perez appeared to have planned for life on the run.
Police said they found materials and books on changing identities, conducting online money transactions, and evading capture.
“This particular homicide was a very, very vicious homicide,” former Farmington Hills Police Chief Bill Dwyer said. “This department, it was a number-one priority with us.”
Dwyer said investigators were able to identify Perez quickly, but Perez “fled the country almost immediately, taking some of the victim’s identification with him at the time.”
Who Gordon Machek was
Friends described Machek as a quiet, humble neighbor and friend with extraordinary creative talent and a deep love for art and design.
Sue Macri, a longtime friend, said Machek’s backyard was carefully crafted and that he delighted in sharing it with neighborhood kids.
Macri said Machek was “soft-spoken” and kind and that he regularly used his talents to create projects for children at an orphanage.
“Gordon was too humble to say the things that he did,” Sue Macri said.
She also said Machek had been looking forward to retirement, with plans for a Florida dream home that would include a dedicated art studio.
After he disappeared, Macri said, “his retirement gifts were still on his desk, some of them still not opened.”
“He never got to see his dream,” Marci said.
The fugitive case goes international
While Perez allegedly fled soon after the killing, the FBI said Perez’s use of the victim’s credit card for travel, including a one-way ticket to San Diego, and other purchases created the federal nexus needed for an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution warrant.
According to the FBI, a key break came in 2023 after Perez was arrested in Guatemala on an unrelated charge and fingerprinted.
Through international database coordination, those fingerprints were tied to the long-standing U.S. warrant, Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyon said, setting the extradition process in motion.
“What began as a local homicide investigation has now turned into an international effort,” Runyon said. “Today’s announcement sends a clear message: distance does not erase responsibility, and time does not diminish our resolve.”
Runyan said Perez’s capture and extradition was made possible due to the collaborative efforts by the Farmington Hills Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI’s Legal Attache Office in South Salvador, diplomatic partners at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, and Guatemalan law enforcement partners.
“Just because a case is old does not mean it’s cold,” Mayor Teresa Rich said. “The Farmington Hills Police Department never forgot about this case.”
Runyon said Perez’s arrest and extradition were part of the FBI’s broader “Project Welcome Home,” a program focused on tracking down fugitives wanted for violent crimes.
“This initiative demonstrates the FBI’s fervent commitment to apprehend state and local fugitives who are wanted for violent crimes, no matter where they flee to in the world,” Runyon said.
‘Eddie Perez killed three people’
Meanwhile, the Macris said they have never stopped thinking about Machek or what happened. They said Machek’s partner, Jim Johnson, and his mother have since passed.
“Jim was a broken man after that,” Sue Macri said. “About a year or so later, Jim had a massive stroke. He was also the one that had to tell Gordon’s mother that her only child was murdered in the nursing home.”
“Eddie Perez killed three people, not one,” Sue Macri continued. “He caused his partner a stroke and died. He killed their dream of retirement.”
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