A Man on Ohio's "most wanted" List For Twenty Years Found Working as a Police Officer in his Hometown

A 72-year-old Ohio man, Antonio Riano, was apprehended nearly 20 years after being accused of a 2004 gunshot death. The arrest took place on August 1, 2024, in his hometown of Zapotitlán Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico, where he had been living and working as a police officer.

Riano had been on Ohio's "Most Wanted" list since 2004, following the shooting death of 25-year-old Benjamin Becarra. Despite being featured on America's Most Wanted in 2005, Riano managed to evade authorities for almost two decades.

The Butler County Sheriff's Office had been seeking Riano for homicide after the December 2004 shooting, but it is believed he fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution. US Marshals, in coordination with the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice and Mexican law enforcement, eventually tracked him down.

Riano is currently being held without bond at Butler County Jail while further court proceedings are ongoing. US Marshal Michael D. Black praised the collaborative effort between agencies, stating, "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, who gained notoriety as "The Devil" after his story was aired on America's Most Wanted, had previously evaded capture when US Marshals attempted to apprehend him in 2006. He disappeared after Marshals traced him to his mother's residence in Mexico, only to find that he had already fled.

The cold case was revisited in January 2024 when the Butler County Prosecutor's Office reapplied for the interim warrant. Chief Investigator Paul Newton and his team utilized social media, particularly Facebook, to track Riano's whereabouts. According to Newton, Riano had been working as a police officer in Mexico, while his wife and three children remained in Hamilton, Ohio.

Riano faces charges of criminal assault and two counts of murder for the December 19, 2004, shooting of Becarra outside the Roadhouse Bar. According to police, the gun used in the shooting was found alongside ammunition in a hidden compartment beneath the kitchen floor of Riano's Hamilton apartment.

The incident occurred after Becarra, who had been involved in a fight at the bar weeks earlier, was asked to leave. Riano allegedly intervened on behalf of a barman, leading to an argument that escalated outside the bar. Surveillance footage from the time showed Riano fleeing the scene after the shooting, but authorities were unable to locate him until now.