A man considered to be among America’s ‘most wanted’ fugitives sought in a 2004 murder was finally arrested earlier this month after working as a police officer in Mexico, according to a U.S. Marshals press release.
Antonio Riano, 72, of Zapotitlan Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of felony assault. Riano, who was profiled on the America’s Most Wanted television series in 2005, was wanted in relation to the shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, 25, in Butler County, Ohio, which took place nearly 20 full years prior to his arrest.
Riano was arrested in his hometown, where he worked as a police officer, and extradited back to Ohio, where he’s being held without bond. Police said the two men were involved in an argument that took place inside and then outside of the Round House Bar in Hamilton on December 19, 2004, at which point Riano shot Becarra in the face, FOX 19 reports.
“This type of apprehension would not be possible without the cooperation and due diligence of both the Prosecutor’s Office investigators, the United States Marshal Service, and the United States Department of Justice,” said Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County prosecutor, in the U.S. Marshals press release.
The Butler County Prosecutor’s Office worked alongside U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, who partnered with Mexican law enforcement agencies to arrest and extradite Riano, who recently made his first court appearance in Ohio and is scheduled for his second later this month.
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