Cold Case Fugitive Arrested After 23 Years by U.S. Marshals

Painesville, OH – Earlier today, The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) led, Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested Juan Carlos Munoz, 52, who was wanted by the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office for failure to appear on kidnapping and gross sexual imposition charges. The warrant was issued on January 11, 2002.

This past year, the NOVFTF adopted the fugitive apprehension responsibility for Munoz and started an in-depth fugitive investigation. Today, members of the NOVFTF positively identified Munoz get into a vehicle and drive away from a location they were surveilling for him. That vehicle was later pulled over for a traffic violation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Munoz provided a false Ohio identification and claimed to be another male. A swift investigation was conducted by the NOVFTF and fingerprints were taken that revealed the true identity of the subject in question to be fugitive Juan Carlos Munoz. Munoz was arrested on his outstanding warrant and transported and booked at the Lake County Jail to await extradition to Ashtabula County.

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, “After 23 years of evading arrest, our task force arrested this deceptive and dangerous fugitive. This fugitive went to extreme lengths to avoid being arrested, including assuming another identity over twenty years ago and has been living under that alias all this time.”

Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.  Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.  

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Painesville Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies:  U.S. Marshals Service, Eastlake Police Department, Willowick Police Department, Willoughby Police Department, Willoughby Hills Police Department, Wickliffe Police Department, Mentor Police Department, Mentor-on-the-lake Police Department, Painesville Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Geauga County Sheriff’s Department, Ashtabula Police Department, Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Middlefield Police Department, Lake County Narcotics, Conneaut Police Department, Chester Township Police Department, and Russell Township Police Department.