After nearly two decades on the run, an Ohio murder suspect has been found working as a police officer in his hometown in Mexico. Antonio Riano, 72, who was wanted for the 2004 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Benjamin Becarra in Hamilton, Ohio, was captured on August 1st in Zapotilan Palmas, Oaxaca, Mexico, where he had been serving as a local cop.
Riano, who was listed among the Butler County Sheriff’s Office’s “most wanted” and featured on America’s Most Wanted in 2005, had eluded capture for years. The incident that led to his fugitive status occurred outside Roundhouse Bar in December 2004, when a confrontation between Riano and Becarra escalated into gunfire. Surveillance footage showed Riano fleeing the scene, prompting an extensive manhunt.
Authorities nearly caught Riano in 2006 but missed him by a narrow margin when he evaded U.S. Marshals by hiding out at a friend’s house nearby. It wasn’t until investigators leveraged social media, including Facebook, that they finally tracked him down.
Paul Newton, the chief investigator for the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed Riano’s arrest, stating that he was flown from Mexico City and is now in the Butler County Jail in Cincinnati. Riano faces two charges of murder and one count of felony assault. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
This case highlights the persistence of law enforcement and the surprising turn of events that led to the discovery of a long-time fugitive working in law enforcement himself.
