By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Juan L. Diaz, the man accused in Wednesday’s shooting death of Mayra Cruz, is expected to be brought back to Rhode Island on Thursday and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 7 on a murder charge, according to Michael Healey, spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch’s office.

Healey said late Monday that the 24-year-old Diaz has agreed to waive extradition, so members of the Rhode Island Sheriff’s department will be heading to the Albany County Correctional Facility, in Albany, NY, where he has been held since his arrest last Thursday in that city. He will be transported back to Rhode Island and held at the Adult Correctional Institution.
Healey said the attorney general’s office has asked to have Diaz taken to Providence District Court on Monday, July 7, for his arraignment on a warrant charge of murder and three other warrant charges.
According to Healey, there are a total of four warrant charges for Diaz, including the one from Pawtucket Police charging him with the murder of the 26-year-old Cruz.
Cruz, who had apparently been involved in a relationship with Diaz, was found lying dead in his basement apartment at 14 Reservoir Avenue at around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The state medical examiner ruled that she died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
Police and rescue personnel had responded after a 911 call came in, from a man alleged to be Diaz, saying he had accidentally shot his girlfriend in the face with a gun during a struggle. He had fled before police arrived, but was arrested the next day in Albany, where police had traced him to some relatives living there.
Police and court records show that Diaz and Cruz apparently had a turbulent relationship prior to the incident. According to Healey and Pawtucket Police Detective Sgt. Tina Goncalves, Diaz was arrested in both January and February of this year on domestic violence charges involving Cruz, who lived with her young daughter in the Galego Court housing complex.
On January 18, Diaz was arrested on a warrant charge after allegedly breaking into Cruz’ apartment and assaulting her.  He had fled the scene, but was later involved in a traffic accident and was taken into custody by police. He was charged with breaking and entering, felony assault, simple assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism/failure to relinquish a telephone in an emergency, police said.
Pawtucket Police issued another arrest warrant for Diaz on Feb. 23 stemming from an alleged incident again involving Diaz. He was charged with domestic simple assault, domestic vandalism and violation of a no contact order, Goncalves said.
According to Healey, a bench warrant from Providence District Court for failure to appear for a home confinement review was issued on Feb. 29 for Diaz, stemming from the Feb. 23 incident. On June 12, a Superior Court bench warrant for failure to appear for arraignment on the domestic charges was also issued for Diaz.
Goncalves also said that Cruz had been in contact with a domestic violence counselor and had taken steps to seek a permanent restraining order against Diaz. However, this had been dismissed on June 24 for failure to appear at a court hearing.