By Andrea Pettes
 
October 30, 2009
 
MEDFORD, Ore. - A man suspected of a murder four years ago near Ashland has been extradited to Jackson County.
 
33-year-old Jose Perez Silva plead not guilty at his arraignment in Jackson County Circuit Court Friday to charges he murdered his ex-girlfriend Ana Meraz in May 2005.
 
Meraz was found bleeding to death outside her car on Interstate-5 near Ashland. Investigators think Silva used the Bear Creek Greenway to escape and return to his home in Phoenix, where they assume he gathered some items and fled the state.
 
Silva was arrested in May 2009 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico following an extensive investigation and search involving Southern Oregon, state and federal agencies in the U.S. and Mexico.
 
If convicted, Silva faces anywhere from 25 years to life-in-prison.
 
"On or about May 3, 2005, in Jackson County, Oregon, you unlawfully and intentionally caused the death of Anna Meraz another human being," Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Ray White said.
 
A pretrail date has been set for November 9th.