Mexico native back in Bay Area for trial in ’09 killing

Jaime Belam, one of three men suspected in the February 2009 shooting of Moises Frias Jr. outside the Daly City BART Station, was extradited from Mexico and appeared in U.S. District Court in San Francisco for the first time Monday. less Jaime Belam, one of three men suspected in the February 2009 shooting of Moises Frias Jr. outside the Daly City BART Station, was extradited from Mexico and appeared in U.S. District Court in San Francisco for ... more Photo: Xx / Daly City Police Photo: Xx / Daly City Police Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Mexico native back in Bay Area for trial in ’09 killing 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A gang suspect appeared in U.S. District Court in San Francisco for the first time after he was extradited from Mexico on charges ranging from racketeering to the slaying of a college student in Daly City six years ago, prosecutors said.

Jaime Balam, 26, a Mexico native and citizen who also went by the name “Tweety,” was wanted as a suspect in the murder of 21-year-old Moises Frias Jr., who was shot and killed Feb. 19, 2009, in a car near the Daly City BART Station because his friends were wearing red — a color claimed by a rival gang — according to police.

Two of the other three men in the car were also injured, but they survived. None of the victims were associated with gangs, investigators said.

“I would never expect something like this to happen in my life,” Moises Frias Sr. said shortly after two men — Danilo Velasquez and Luis Herrera — were arrested for the crime. “These guys, they destroyed my life, me and family, for nothing.”

In 2012, Velasquez was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and weapons charges in Frias’ death. Herrera, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy and admitted to driving the car, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Balam was deported to his native Mexico eight days after the shooting, but before he was identified as a suspect. All three men were suspected of being members of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a violent gang that operates in numerous Central American countries and in many states in the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Balam was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2012 on allegations of racketeering, conspiracy, the slaying of Frias and other acts of violence. He was arrested in Mexico in October 2013 and subsequently ordered to be extradited Feb. 10, 2015, said Melinda Haag of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“We are happy to see that Mr. Balam was brought back to the U.S. for prosecution in this case,” said Daly City police Capt. John Gamez. “This brings a long-awaited closure to the innocent victims and their families.”

Tatum King, acting special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco, agreed that the extradition was a long time coming, but he said it showed the willingness of multiple agencies to work together across international borders.

“As this case makes clear, we will not allow our borders to be barriers to bringing accused violent criminals to justice,” he said. “In addition to the tireless efforts by (Homeland Security) special agents in the Bay Area and Mexico City, we also owe a tremendous debt to authorities in Mexico, whose cooperation was vital to assuring this defendant’s return.”

Balam is facing at least seven felony charges, including murder, conspiracy and racketeering. If convicted of all charges he could face multiple life sentences.

He was scheduled to appear in court on March 3 for a status conference, Haag said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale