Chicago cold-case murder suspect arrested in Hemet

RIVERSIDE - A Chicago cold-case murder suspect was arrested in Hemet and remained jailed today awaiting a transfer back to Illinois to stand trial.

Giovanni Spiller, 65, was arrested at a Hemet residence Feb. 21 after investigators in Chicago received a tip about his whereabouts, Los Angeles- based FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. Spiller, who is wanted in the Nov. 29, 1996, fatal shooting of 53-year-old Roberto Castillo outside a Chicago pool hall, had been a fugitive since 1997.

Spiller was being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, and detectives from Chicago were expected to pick him up there in the near future, Eimiller said.

Spiller and Castillo were longtime friends and regulars at Marie's Golden Cue at 3241 W. Montrose Ave. in Chicago, officials said. In late 1996, Spiller and Castillo got into a fight, and Castillo beat Spiller. Castillo was walking to Marie's when he was shot several times, and at least one person identified Spiller as the shooter, the Chicago Tribune reported.

An arrest warrant for Spiller was issued in December 1996 in Cook County, Ill. Investigators looked for him in the United States and abroad, and believed he traveled through the Philippines, among other places. A federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued in the Northern District of Illinois in May 1997, Eimiller said.

Members of the FBI's Inland Regional Apprehension Team saw Spiller parking in the driveway of the Hemet residence last week. Eimiller said he had been using a fictitious name.

Eimiller said the U.S. government will likely dismiss the federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and Spiller will likely remain in custody while he awaits trial on a murder charge in Illinois.

The Chicago Tribune reported that someone who knew Spiller was in Hemet contacted Chicago police and the FBI after reading an article about Spiller's case that was part of the Tribune's ''Fugitives from Justice'' series.

Spiller, who went to Memphis, Tenn., then the Philippines, used aliases, dyed his hair, ''obtained identification stating he was 'Johnny Harrington,' avoided family gatherings and rarely answered the telephone,'' according to the Tribune.

The newspaper reported that when an FBI agent approached him in Hemet last week, Spiller claimed he was Harrington, but his scars and tattoos gave him away. He was fingerprinted at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside to confirm his identity, the Tribune reported.

Spiller had surrendered to Chicago authorities in 1996, but fled after posting a bond, according to the Tribune.