Rhode Island ‘Most Wanted’ Fugitive on the Run 8 Years Arrested in Guatemala

Washington, DC – A man wanted for a 2017 murder in Providence, Rhode Island, was arrested Tuesday in Guatemala.  John E. Nunez, 36, is wanted by the Providence Police Department for the July 1, 2017, murder of 22-year-old Devin Burney.

Nunez is alleged to have evaded law enforcement since the killing by obtaining false identification documents and fleeing the United States, ultimately establishing residence in Guatemala using a fraudulent identity.

Nunez will be detained by Guatemalan authorities pending his return to the United States to face charges in Rhode Island.

This arrest is the result of an extensive, long-term investigation led by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, in close partnership with the Providence Police Department, which has remained actively engaged in this case since the initial homicide investigation in 2017. For more than eight years, Deputy U.S. Marshals, Task Force Officers, and Providence detectives relentlessly pursued leads across multiple jurisdictions, applying advanced investigative techniques and leveraging intelligence resources to track Nunez’s movements and associates.

Approximately 18 months ago, investigators developed information indicating that Nunez may be in Guatemala. Through sustained investigative efforts and close coordination with domestic and international partners, authorities were able to narrow his location and ultimately facilitate his apprehension.

This complex international operation required coordination between the U.S. Marshals Service, the Providence Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Critical support was provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Guatemalan law enforcement authorities. The U.S. Marshals Service acknowledges the critical assistance of the Subdirección General de Análisis e Información Antinarcótica (SGAIA), Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) of Guatemala.

“This arrest sends a clear and unequivocal message: you can run, you can hide, and you can cross international borders, but you will not escape accountability,” said Wing Chau, U.S. Marshal for the District of Rhode Island. “The dedicated fugitive investigators of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force will pursue violent offenders wherever they go, for as long as it takes, until they are brought to justice.”

The Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force is a partnership led by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rhode Island State Police, with deputized Task Force Officers from the Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Middletown, Pawtucket, and Portsmouth Police Departments, the FBI, and analytical support from the Rhode Island Army National Guard Counterdrug Program.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency and is the primary agency responsible for fugitive investigations. The U.S. Marshals Service leads the nation’s fugitive apprehension efforts through a network of regional fugitive task forces, including the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, which targets the most dangerous state and federal fugitives.

The U.S. Marshals Service has apprehended more than 90,000 fugitives annually in recent years and plays a critical role in enforcing federal court orders, protecting the federal judiciary, transporting prisoners, and managing seized assets.