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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: |
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October 10, 2008
David P. Gonzales
United States Marshal |
Thomas Twohey
Deputy U.S. Marshal, Public Affairs Officer
(520) 904-3054 |
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Most wanted sex offender flees to Mexico,
captured and returned to Arizona |
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Tucson, Ariz.- The United States Marshals
Service WANTED Fugitive Task Force announces the capture of a convicted sex
offender who fled to Mexico while on probation. The fugitive was considered
one of Goodyear, Arizona’s most wanted fugitives.
Authorities from the Sonora State Investigative Police (PEI) in Mexico
located the fugitive, Dale Washburn, in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico and
detained him at the request of the U.S. Marshals Mexico Investigative
Liaison in Tucson, Arizona. Washburn, a U.S. citizen, was deported from
Mexico by the National Institute of Immigration (INM) at the DeConcini Port
of Entry to the custody of U. S. Marshals and the Goodyear Police
Department.
Washburn, 59, was on probation in Maricopa County, Arizona when he allegedly
failed to register as a sex offender as required by law. A warrant for his
arrest was then issued in January, 2008. During the search for Washburn,
investigators believed that Washburn may have fled to Mexico. The Goodyear
Police Department contacted the U.S. Marshals WANTED Fugitive Task Force in
Phoenix and requested assistance.
Investigators from the U.S. Marshals Mexico Investigative Liaison unit in
Tucson were contacted and an International Investigation was initiated. On
September 3, 2008, federal authorities secured an arrest warrant for
Washburn for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. With the assistance of
the Federal Investigative Agency (AFI) in Mexico and the Attorney General of
Mexico (PGR) in Los Angeles, the fugitive was tracked down and found to be
residing in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. After Washburn was detained, Mexican
immigration authorities determined that he had no legal status in the
country and was expelled.
David P. Gonzales, United States Marshal for the District of Arizona,
praised the efforts of all law enforcement officers involved in the arrest.
“Bi-National cooperation in the capture of this fugitive makes neighborhoods
here and abroad much safer.”
For more information on the U.S. Marshals, please visit the
website:usmarshals.gov
For more information about the U.S. Marshals
Service, visit
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/la-m/index.html. |
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