Fleeing Murder Suspect Caught After 20 Years As A Police Officer

Antonio Riano, a 72-year-old man from Ohio, was apprehended in Zapotitlán Palmas, Mexico, after evading authorities for nearly two decades.

Antonio Riano had been on the run since 2004, following the shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, 25, outside the Roadhouse Bar in Hamilton, Ohio.

Riano, who had been featured on America’s Most Wanted in 2005, managed to evade capture and astonishingly served as a police officer in his hometown in Mexico.

His arrest on August 1, 2024, was the result of coordinated efforts by the US Marshals Service, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, in collaboration with Mexican law enforcement.

“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.

“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 had been wanted for homicide by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office after allegedly fleeing to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

The cold case picked up heat in January 2024 when the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office re-applied for a provisional warrant.

Chief Investigator Paul Newton and his team used social media, including Facebook, to track Antonio Riano down.

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

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

Riano is now being held without bond in Butler County Jail, facing charges of murder and felony assault.

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