Man wanted for 1991 Attleboro murder captured in Guatemala
Man wanted for 1991 Attleboro murder captured in Guatemala 00:27
A man wanted in connection with a 1991 stabbing death during a fight in Massachusetts has been found working on a shrimp farm in Guatemala, state police said. Authorities said that the suspect tried to get away by jumping into the water but was captured.
Mario Garcia was found living under an alias, operating the farm in Iztapa, police said in a news release Wednesday.
FUGITIVE WANTED FOR 1991 ATTLEBORO HOMICIDE CAPTURED IN GUATEMALA
A multi-agency investigation that spanned more than 30 years and two continents concluded today when authorities working in Guatemala captured the suspect accused of a 1991 Attleboro homicide.
MARIO R. GARCIA, a member of the Massachusetts State Police Most Wanted Fugitives list, was found living under an alias and operating a shrimp farm in Iztapa, Guatemala. GARCIA is wanted for the Nov. 16, 1991 stabbing homicide of Ismael Recinos-Garcia during a fight at Dean and Bank Streets in Attleboro.
Shortly after the homicide, Attleboro Police Detectives and Troopers from the State Police Detective Unit for Bristol County identified GARCIA, then 19 and now 50, as the assailant and obtained an arrest warrant. GARCIA immediately fled and, despite extensive efforts by law enforcement agencies in various US jurisdictions, could not be located.
In 2014 the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section developed information that GARCIA had likely fled to a remote area of his native Guatemala. The VFAS case officer, then-Trooper Curtis Cinelli, continued to work on the investigation after he left the fugitive unit in conjunction with VFAS, Attleboro Police, the United States Marshals Service, the Bristol State Police Detective Unit, the MSP Unresolved Case Unit, and the Bristol District Attorney’s Office. In March 2021 the State Police added GARCIA to their Most Wanted Fugitives list.
In early 2022, now-Detective Lt. Cinelli, now assigned to the MSP Executive Protection Unit, developed information that GARCIA might be working on a shrimp farm in Iztapa, Guatemala.
VFAS identified a specific shrimp farm and forwarded the information to the US Marshals Service. The USMS New England Fugitive Task Force works closely with MSP VFAS on various investigations.
The US Marshals Service Office of International Affairs, the Operations for Central America and the US Department of State Diplomatic Security Service Overseas Criminal Investigations Unit in Guatemala coordinated the deployment of an investigative and apprehension team on the ground in Guatemala.
That team confirmed the shrimp farm as GARCIA’s location and determined he was using an alias. Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn 3rd then worked with the US Department of Justice to facilitate the issuance of a provisional warrant for GARCIA’s arrest.
The apprehension team this morning deployed to serve the arrest warrant. GARCIA attempted to evade capture by jumping into a body of water at the shrimp farm but was apprehended and placed into custody.
“We don’t forget, we are persistent, and we never cease in our efforts to secure justice for victims,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher S. Mason said. “The fact that we were able to reach into Guatemala to hold accountable someone who committed a homicide in Massachusetts is a result of both tenacious police work and the value of our relationships with local, federal and international partners.”
“We are glad that the victim, Ismael Recinos-Garcia, will finally have justice be brought forth for this senseless murder,” Attleboro Police Chief Kyle P. Heagney said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. I would like to thank the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, the US Marshal’s Service, the Department of State, and the Guatemalan Federal Police Force. This was great police work and these partnerships are extremely valuable.”
“The US Marshals Service specializes in tracking down fugitives around the country and around the world,” said Brian Kyes, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts. “Along with our state and local domestic partners, and our international liaisons, we were able to locate and capture this violent fugitive.”
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn 3rd stated “I am very pleased and grateful for the efforts of all the state, local and federal agencies that worked together to secure an arrest in this case. I want specifically to acknowledge the efforts of my Cold Case Unit, the Massachusetts State Police, the State Department and the US Marshals Service. This collaborative effort led to an important first step in attempting to finally bring justice to the family of the victim. We look forward to the extradition process and to the prosecution of this case in Bristol County.”
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Guatemalan authorities will coordinate GARCIA’s extradition to the US to face prosecution in Bristol County for Recinos-Garcia’s murder.
“We don’t forget, we are persistent, and we never cease in our efforts to secure justice for victims,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher S. Mason said. “The fact that we were able to reach into Guatemala to hold accountable someone who committed a homicide in Massachusetts is a result of both tenacious police work and the value of our relationships with local, federal and international partners.”
Ismael Recinos-Garcia was stabbed on Nov. 16, 1991, in Attleboro.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Mario Garcia, then 19. He fled and could not be found.
In 2014, the state police’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section developed information that Garcia had likely fled to a remote area of his native Guatemala. By 2021, he had been added to the state police’s Most Wanted Fugitives list .
Earlier this year, a detective who had worked on the investigation developed information that Garcia might be working on the shrimp farm.
The information was forwarded to the U.S. Marshals Service, which worked with the Operations for Central America and the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service Overseas Criminal Investigations Unit in Guatemala. The Department of State and the Guatemalan Federal Police Force also worked on finding him.
Police said Garcia, now 50, “attempted to evade capture by jumping into a body of water” at the shrimp farm, but was apprehended and placed into custody.
Guatemalan authorities are coordinating Garcia’s extradition to the United States to face prosecution in Massachusetts’ Bristol County. It wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer.
“We are glad that the victim, Ismael Recinos-Garcia, will finally have justice be brought forth for this senseless murder,” Attleboro Police Chief Kyle P. Heagney said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.”