A man convicted in 1982 of killing someone in a Texas wreck, and who fled from authorities before his sentencing and has been on the run for 31 years,was arrested Tuesday in north Fulton County.
U.S. Marshals Service Inspector Gavin Duffy said Gilbert Rico was convicted of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a fatal wreck in Harris County, Texas, but fled to Mexico while on bond and did not appear for his sentencing.
Duffy said that his agency’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force learned recently that Rico was back in the United States, and was in the Atlanta area.
Duffy said Rico had apparently been back in the United States for 16 years, but he didn’t know how long he had been living in the Atlanta area.
Early Tuesday, U.S. Marshals and immigration officers “initiated surveillance on a suspected location for Rico,” Duffy said in a press release. “It was quickly determined he was in the home and was arrested without incident.”
Authorities have not released the specific location where Rico was found.
Rico was being held without bond Wednesday in the Fulton County Jail.
“No matter how long it has been since the warrant has been issued, we simply do not stop pursuing the fugitive,” U.S. Marshals Chief Inspector Keith Booker said. “Sooner or later, we will find and arrest them.”
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