On January 12, Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff filed a complaint for murder and an Alameda County Superior Court Judge signed a fugitive arrest warrant, as Mehserle had left the city. He was arrested January 13 at a friend's home in the Zephyr Cove, Nevada, area near Lake Tahoe. His attorney said Mehserle had gone after receiving death threats in the Bay Area. Mehserle waived extradition, and was held in protective custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California. Mehserle pleaded not guilty at his arraignment January 15. On July 9, 2010, the U.S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation against Mehserle, but closed the investigation without filing charges.
