A homicide fugitive on Ohio’s “most wanted” list for nearly two decades was found working as a police officer in his hometown in Mexico — and has since been arrested, officials said.
Antonio Riano, who has been wanted in the 2004 shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, 25, was arrested Aug. 1 in Zapotilan Palmas, Oaxaca state, Mexico, where he had worked as a police officer, according to US Marshals.
Riano, now 72, was listed as one of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office’s “Most Wanted” and was profiled on the 2005 TV series “America’s Most Wanted.”
Police said Riano shot Becarra outside the Roundhouse Bar in Hamilton, Ohio, after an argument on Dec. 19, 2004, It was reported by NBC News.
Riano had gone in to help a bartender at the watering hole after the worker asked Becarra to leave the premises because he had been in a fight there weeks earlier, officials said at the time.
As Riano and Becarra argued, the bartender told them to take it outside, where shots were later heard and Becarra was found lying face down on the sidewalk.
Surveillance footage showed Riano fleeing the scene, but authorities were unable to locate him. It was believed at the time that he fled the country to avoid prosecution.
Paul Newton, chief investigator for the Butler County District Attorney’s Office, said U.S. marshals initially tried to capture Riano with a warrant in 2006 — but he eluded them by staying down the street at a friend’s house, NBC News reported.
He said they were finally able to track down Riano earlier this month using Facebook and other social media.
Riano was flown from Mexico City to Cincinnati and taken to the Butler County Jail, where he is being held pending trial.
He is being held on two charges of murder and one case of aggravated assault.
He is due back in court later this month.