At that time, Chief Investigator Paul Newton and his team used social media, including Facebook, to track Riano down. While purportedly working as a police officer in Mexico, according to the US Marshals' release, Riano had left behind a wife and three kids in Hamilton, Ohio.
Newton said Riano "has been the most challenging just in the simple fact that he really dug in then and went underground."
After the 2006 attempt failed, Newton said Riano moved again.
"We really didn’t see any evidence of him until 2023," he said. "I think he thought he was home free."
Now that he's captured, Riano is facing two counts of murder and felony assault charges for the December 19, 2004 shooting of Becarra outside the Roadhouse Bar.
Police say they found the gun used in the shooting in a hidden compartment under the kitchen floor of Riano's apartment in Hamilton with bullets beside it.
Riano reportedly tried to step in to help a bartender after Becarra was asked to leave the premises since he'd been part of a fight there a few weeks back. As Riano and Becarra allegedly began to argue, the bartender purportedly asked them to take the dispute outside.
Shortly after, gunshots were heard and Becarra was found lying face down on the sidewalk. Surveillance footage at the time showed Riano leaving the scene, but authorities were unable to locate him.
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