'Most Wanted' Fugitive Found Working as Cop

A fugitive featured on America's Most Wanted was found working as a police officer in Mexico.

Antonio Riano, 72, had been on Ohio's most wanted fugitive list for nearly 20 years.
He was being sought for the shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, 25, in Butler County, Ohio, in 2004.

U.S. Marshals arrested Riano on August 1 in his hometown of Zapotitlan Palmas, Oaxaca, Mexico, where he was working as a police officer. A photo released after the capture shows Riano in his blue police cap and jacket.

A U.S. Marshals Service press release stated that they were working on the case with the Butler County Prosecutor's Office. Riano made his first court appearance in Ohio on Monday, and a judge ordered that he be held in jail without bond. He faces two charges of murder and one count of felony assault.

The release said that Riano was wanted for "the shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, age 25, that occurred in December of 2004. After the shooting, Riano allegedly fled the United States to avoid prosecution."

"Riano was listed as one of the Butler County Sheriff's Office 'Most Wanted' and was profiled on the America's Most Wanted television series in 2005."

Riano allegedly shot Becarra in the face following an argument inside and then outside of the Round House bar in Hamilton, Ohio, on the afternoon of December 19, 2004, Fox 19 Cincinnati reported this week.

Becarra was allegedly in a fight at the bar a few weeks earlier, so when he reappeared on December 19, the bartender asked Becarra to leave, Paul Newton, the prosecutor's chief investigator, told the news station.

Riano came to the assistance of the bartender and had a heated argument with Becarra, Newton said. The bartender asked the two to take it outside and Riano allegedly shot Becarra moments later. CCTV footage from the bar showed Riano fleeing in his van.

Police found the gun 10 days later "hidden in a secret compartment under the kitchen floor of his Hamilton apartment that was on East Avenue near the bar," Fox 19 reported.

The Marshals Service said it received help from Mexican authorities in capturing Riano.

"Over 20 years after the shooting the Butler County Prosecutor's Office teamed up with the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs who worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Riano."

The statement continued: "On August 1, 2024, Deputy U.S. Marshals took custody of Riano from Mexican authorities in Mexico City. He was flown to Cincinnati and then transported to the Butler County Jail where he remains pending court proceedings."

According to a 2019 article in Police Magazine, officers in Oaxaca "often retire in their 80s or even 90s because they cannot afford to live off the minuscule pensions the government provides," which may explain Riano's continued presence in the force.