Washington, D.C. – U.S. Marshals coordinated the apprehension and capture of a “15 Most Wanted” fugitive Wednesday in Mexico. Geovany Rivera, facing a murder charge in Texas, was detained by Mexican authorities when a joint, international law enforcement effort located him in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Mexican authorities deported Rivera and he was handed over to U.S. Marshals in Laredo, Texas, Wednesday. Now that he is back on American soil, Rivera will face the charges he was trying to outrun: murder, two counts of sexual assault and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Rivera is not the first U.S. fugitive to run to Mexico; in the past year, 176 U.S. fugitives have been arrested in Mexico.

U.S. Marshals used their extensive investigative skills and international law enforcement liaisons to help track down Rivera in Mexico. The Mexican Policia Especial De Tamaulipas had an indispensable role on the team that brought down this dangerous fugitive.

"The capture of ‘15 Most Wanted’ fugitive Geovany Rivera could not have been accomplished without the exceptional cooperation of Mexican law enforcement. Yesterday, Mr. Rivera, like so many fugitives before him, discovered that Mexican authorities will not allow their country to be a safe haven for these wanted criminals,” said U.S. Marshal LaFayette Collins.

Rivera was added to the U.S. Marshals “15 Most Wanted” fugitive list a week ago. He is accused of murdering a clerk at a Texas game store. Amber Belken, an EB Games store manager in San Antonio, was found brutally murdered inside the store Jan. 29, 2007. Upon arrival at the scene, detectives found Belken near the rear of the store laying face down with a plastic bag over her head. An autopsy performed by the Bexar County Forensic Science Center ruled the cause of death was asphyxia.

For more than a year Belken’s alleged killer eluded detection, until June when he purchased a .357-caliber handgun in Laredo, Texas. Within days of making the purchase, Rivera is alleged to have sexually assaulted and threatened to kill another victim.

The arrest of Rivera is the culmination of a cooperative investigation conducted by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force Laredo Division, U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals San Antonio, San Antonio Police Department, Laredo Police Department and Mexican authorities.

The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force are teams of law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies in South Texas. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest violent fugitives. Last year, U.S. Marshals task forces located throughout the United States arrested more than 58,000 state and local fugitives on felony charges.

Annually, investigations carried out by the U.S. Marshals result in the apprehension of approximately 36,000 federal fugitives.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov

    Original News Release

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