U.S. Marshals Capture Hamilton Homicide Suspect From 2004

Cincinnati, OH – The U.S. Marshals Service and Butler County Prosecutor’s Office are pleased to announce the arrest of Antonio Riano in his hometown of Zapotitlan Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Antonio Riano was wanted by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for Homicide, who was charged in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas for the shooting death of Benjamin Becarra, age 25, that occurred in December of 2004. After the shooting, Riano allegedly fled the United States to avoid prosecution.

Riano was listed as one of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office “Most Wanted” and was profiled on the America’s Most Wanted television series in 2005. Over 20 years after the shooting the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office teamed up with the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs who worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Riano. When Riano was arrested in Mexico he was found to be working as a local police officer.

On August 1, 2024, Deputy U.S. Marshals took custody of Riano from Mexican authorities in Mexico City. He was flown to Cincinnati and then transported to the Butler County Jail where he remains pending court proceedings.

“This type of apprehension would not be possible without the cooperation and due diligence of both the Prosecutor’s Office investigators, the United States Marshal Service, and the United States Department of Justice,” said Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecutor. 

“The United States Marshal Service, through our violent fugitive task forces, assists our state and local law enforcement partners to apprehend the area’s most dangerous fugitives. This arrest is the result of the ongoing sharing of information between the agencies and the determination of the investigators who refused to give up on this case,” said Michael D. Black, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio.

Cincinnati’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) is a U.S. Marshals Service-led task force consisting of local, state, and federal authorities including the Adult Parole Authority, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Butler County Probation Office, Colerain Township Police Department, Department of Homeland Security/ Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Golf Manor Police Department, Harrison Police Department, Mount Orab Police Department, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Trenton Police Department, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, and Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information on any fugitive may submit an anonymous web tip.