CINCINNATI, Ohio — A man sought for a nearly two-decade-old murder in Ohio has been apprehended in Mexico and returned to the United States. Antonio “El Diablo” Riano, 72, was captured in the southwestern Mexican town of Zapotitlán Palmas and arrived in the U.S. on August 1, 2024, to face charges related to the 2004 killing.
Riano is accused of fatally shooting 25-year-old Benjamin Becerra outside a bar in Hamilton, Ohio, six days before Christmas in 2004. Security camera footage from the bar reportedly shows Riano shooting Becerra in the face, resulting in his death. After fleeing to Mexico, where he allegedly became a police officer, Riano was finally located and apprehended.
Mexican authorities turned Riano over to U.S. marshals, who transported him from Mexico City to Cincinnati. He has been booked into a Hamilton County jail on charges of murder, which in Ohio can carry a life sentence. His capture concludes a lengthy search for one of the most wanted fugitives in both Ohio and across the country.
