Ohio murder suspect captured working as a Mexican police officer 20 years later

OAXACA, MEXICO - U.S. Marshals in Mexico City took custody of Antonio "El Diablo" Riano, 72, 20 years after he allegedly shot and killed 25-year-old Benjamin Becerra in Hamilton, Ohio. The Marshals noted that Riano, arrested in uniform, was working as a local police officer in Mexico.

As reported by WXIX, Becerra has been wanted since 2005 in the murder of Becerra, who was shot in the face and killed following an altercation at a Hamilton bar, according to court records. Becerra had reportedly been involved in a barroom brawl weeks prior and returned to the bar. After being asked by the bartender to leave, Becerra refused, prosecutor's investigator Paul Newton said.

Riano came to the bartender's assistance, according to the prosecution, and an argument began. The bartender told the two men to take it outside and moments later heard gunfire. Becerra was later found dead, facedown on the sidewalk. Riano allegedly fled the scene in his van, which was seen on surveillance footage.
 

Man wanted for 2004 murder in Butler County found working as police officer in Mexico. We ask him, "Why did you become a policeman?" His answer below...
WATCH: https://t.co/bLTAL9yxJP@Local12 pic.twitter.com/fD5m5qRiJM

— David Winter (@DavidWinterTV) August 2, 2024

Riano was reportedly identified in the footage, and the murder weapon with rounds still chambered was found in his home within a hidden compartment under the kitchen floor.
 

Mark Henson, a detective on the 2004 case, told WKRC-TV, "We had all the evidence we needed gathered. We already had a direct indictment against him. It was just a matter of waiting to find him."

“I pretty much felt like I was on his tail for probably at least five months, but [I was] just missing him here and there,” Henson told the outlet. “And I’m not going to lie; at that time, I was wondering if we would ever see him again.”

The authorities told Fox that after fleeing Ohio, Riano found his way to his sister's home in New Jersey before leaving the U.S. for Oaxaca.

During the following decades, Riano was even featured on "America's Most Wanted." But the major break in the case came when Newton, who is also a former detective, began working for the Butler County Prosecutor's Office. 

“In January of this year, we started actively looking for Mr. Riano again,” Newton told reporters. Through a series of online searches, Newton was able to find "El Diablo" serving as a police officer with the Zapotitlan Palmas Police Department near Oaxaca where he grew up.  “I'm like, 'My God, there he is!'" Newton explained, “A little bit grayer, a little bit older, but it was him.”

Working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, the American Consulate, the Mexican government, and the Mexican Federal Police, the authorities were eventually able to effect Riano's arrest and extradition back to Ohio. “If you dig hard enough,” Newton concluded. “They found Bin Laden. So, if they can find Bin Laden, I can find Antonio Riano.”

According to Fox News, reporters from Local 12 asked Riano why he had been working as a police officer while living in Mexico after he fled prosecution. He reportedly told them in Spanish that he "wanted to help the people of Mexico." When asked if he killed Becerra, he said "No, I did not."

Riano is being held in the Butler County Jail pending murder charges.