Murder Suspect Found After 20 Years, Working as Police Officer.

Antonio Riano, a 72-year-old man from Ohio, has been apprehended two decades after being charged in connection with a 2004 fatal shooting. The arrest follows years of evasion, during which Riano reportedly fled to Mexico and even served as a police officer there. Riano, who was placed on Ohio’s “Most Wanted” list, was charged with the 2004 murder of 25-year-old Benjamin Becarra in Butler County. Despite being featured on the television show America’s Most Wanted in 2005, Riano managed to evade capture for nearly 20 years.

The case, which had gone cold after a failed 2006 attempt to apprehend Riano in Mexico, gained renewed attention in January 2024 when the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office reapplied for a provisional arrest warrant. US Marshals, working with the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Mexican law enforcement, eventually located Riano in Zapotitlán Palmas, Oaxaca, where he was working as a police officer. His arrest is the result of persistent efforts by investigators, who used social media, including Facebook, to track him down.

Riano is now facing two counts of murder and felony assault charges for the shooting outside the Roadhouse Bar in December 2004. The gun used in the crime was later found hidden in a compartment under the kitchen floor of Riano’s former apartment in Ohio. The incident reportedly began when Riano intervened in a dispute between Becarra and a bartender, which escalated into an argument that ended in gunfire.

Riano’s arrest underscores the ongoing collaboration between US and Mexican authorities in bringing fugitives to justice. He is currently being held without bond in Butler County Jail, awaiting further court proceedings.