Fugitive in shootings is nabbed in Buckeye (Arizona Republic)

Fugitive in shootings is nabbed in Buckeye

Megan Boehnke
The Arizona Republic
May. 23, 2008 12:00 AM

A fugitive wanted for killing two Mexican police officers during a jail escape three years ago has been arrested in Buckeye, where authorities said he has been living with his family and working at a dairy for the past two years.

Heraclio Guevara-Juarez, 31, was arrested Wednesday morning at the Triple G Dairy, on the corner of Broadway and Palo Verde roads, said Deputy Matt Hershey of the U.S. Marshals Service, who worked on the case. Deputies drove him back to Mexico early Thursday. Administrators at the dairy declined to comment.

"By the nature of the charges, he's pretty unpredictable," Hershey said. "Anybody like that is going to be extremely dangerous. You just never know."

Authorities say Guevara-Juarez assumed the identity of his brother-in-law and registered vehicles in Phoenix under the false name. Officials in Mexico got wind of the alias, learned he was in the area and contacted the U.S. Marshals Service last week.

Guevara-Juarez was originally arrested in Zacatecas, Mexico, on charges of robbing a power plant. While awaiting trial, Mexican authorities said he escaped from jail and killed two police officers before entering the United States illegally. His wife and three children later joined him.

"I'm sure he was fairly confident that he was all right," Hershey said. "It'd been a few years since the warrants were issued."

Hershey said it is not immediately known whether he has committed any crimes while in the United States. His wife and children, also in the country illegally, have been turned over to immigration officials.

His warrants out of Mexico for armed robbery, homicide and escape were issued in 2005, Hershey said.

David Gonzales, the U.S. marshal in Phoenix, said, "This is a classic example where law enforcement needs to be vigilant in tracking down career criminals and dangerous fugitives not only out of our state, but other states and other countries."