Murder Suspect Wanted For 20 Years Found Working As Police

A 72-year-old Ohio man was apprehended twenty years after being accused of a 2004 shooting death, and allegedly fled the country.

Antonio Riano, 72, has been on Ohio’s “Most Wanted” list for 20 years after Benjamin Becarra, 25, was shot and died in 2004.

Although Riano’s story was featured on America’s Most Wanted in 2005, he managed to elude authorities for almost twenty more years, despite being employed by them.

After US Marshals discovered Riano working as a police officer in his hometown of Zapotitlán Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico, on August 1, 2024, he was eventually taken into custody.

Following the shooting in December 2004, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office sought Riano for murder; however, the sheriff’s office claims that Riano fled to Mexico in order to evade prosecution.

The US Marshals Service claims that the sheriff’s office collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, which then worked with law enforcement in Mexico to arrest and extradite Riano.

He is currently being held without bond at Butler County Jail while further court proceedings take place.

“The United States Marshal Service, through our violent fugitive task forces, assists our state and local law enforcement partners to apprehend the area’s most dangerous fugitives,” said US Marshal Michael D. Black in the statement.

“This arrest is the result of the ongoing sharing of information between the agencies and the determination of the investigators who refused to give up on this case.”

Riano, known as “The Devil” after his story was featured on AMW, went missing after US Marshals attempted to apprehend him with a warrant in 2006.

They had tracked him down to his mother’s house in Mexico, but Riano had already left by the time Marshals arrived.

The cold case gained up fire in January 2024 when the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office received their reapplication for the interim warrant.

At that time, Chief Investigator Paul Newton and his team used social media, particularly Facebook, to find Riano down.

According to the US Marshals’ announcement, Riano abandoned a wife and three children in Hamilton, Ohio while reportedly working as a police officer in Mexico.

Newton said Riano “has been the most challenging just in the simple fact that he really dug in then and went underground.”

Newton stated that after the failed 2006 effort, Riano moved again.

“We really didn’t see any evidence of him until 2023,” he said. “I think he thought he was home free.”

Riano, who has been apprehended, is charged with two counts of murder and criminal assault for shooting Becarra outside the Roadhouse Bar on December 19, 2004.

Police claim they discovered the gun used in the shooting in a secret compartment beneath the kitchen floor of Riano’s Hamilton flat, with rounds near it.

Riano apparently attempted to assist a barman after Becarra was asked to leave the premises following a confrontation there a few weeks prior. As Riano and Becarra allegedly began to argue, the barman allegedly advised them to take their disagreement outside.

Soon after, gunshots were heard, and Becarra was discovered laying face down on the sidewalk. Surveillance footage at the time showed Riano leave the site, but officials were unable to find him.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli