Mexican cop 'El Diablo' set to go on trial for 2004 killing

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A Mexican police officer is set to go on trial in connection with the killing of a man in Butler County more than 20 years ago.
Antonio Riano, 63, was indicted on a single count of murder in February 2005, but he fled the country. His trial is expected to begin June 10 before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster Jr.
Prosecutors say Riano shot and killed 25-year-old Benjamin Becerra Ramirez during a December 2004 skirmish outside a bar in Hamilton. He then fled to Mexico, where authorities located him nearly two decades later working as a police officer in his hometown of Zapotitlan Palmas in Oaxaca.
The case was put on a long pause as Riano evaded capture, but it was revived after his 2024 arrest and extradition back to the U.S.
Riano told police in a roughly 90-minute interview that on the day of the shooting, he went to confront a group after hearing that his younger brother was assaulted, according to a transcript of the interview previously displayed in court.
The group attacked Riano while outside the bar and he retrieved a gun from his truck and fired two shots toward them, the transcript states.
Kara Blackney, Riano's attorney, wrote in a May court filing that he intends to argue self-defense at trial. Blackney previously said Riano told police that he was shot at first.
It didn't take long after the shooting for investigators to tie Riano to the shooting. After interviewing witnesses, police identified Riano as the suspect and learned he was commonly referred to as 'El Diablo,' a detective wrote in an affidavit.
Prosecutors said surveillance video also showed Riano pull out a revolver and open fire on Becerra, striking him in the head.
Authorities searched a house on East Avenue where Riano had parked his vehicle and found a box of ammunition matching the weapon used in the shooting.
When police later searched Riano's home, they learned he used several fake names and had papers to create false documentation to obtain different identifications. Prosecutors said Riano was in the country unlawfully at the time of the shooting.
A teacher at the elementary school Riano's daughter attended told police they overheard the child's mother say they were moving to New Jersey, where the family had lived previously.
Investigators contacted New Jersey authorities to help locate Rian, but they were told that he had already left the country.
Police said they interviewed the mother of Riano's daughter, who said she'd fought with Riano the night before the shooting and had left him. She told police that a friend had driven Riano to Mexico.
Two years after the shooting, the owner of the East Avenue home found the revolver used to shoot Becerra under the floor of a bathroom closet, investigators said, adding that Riano bought ammo from a local Walmart less than an hour before the shooting.
The Butler County Sheriff's Office listed Riano as a wanted fugitive and the case was even profiled on Fox's "America's Most Wanted.'
Paul Newtown, lead investigator with the Butler County Prosecutor's Office, previously told The Enquirer that authorities never stopped searching for Riano. However, his trail went cold for the better part of 20 years.
Newton said the U.S. Marshals Service became involved early on in the investigation and there was an attempt by marshals to arrest Riano in Mexico, but they missed him.
'After he found out the U.S. Marshals were after him, he kind of went underground,' Newton said, adding that investigators lost track of Riano until the beginning of 2024.
Newton eventually stumbled upon Riano's Facebook account, which included a video of him. That's also when investigators learned he was working as a police officer. He was later arrested by Mexican authorities and brought back to the U.S. to stand trial.
However, Blackney previously argued in court that Riano taking a job in law enforcement shows that he wasn't trying to hide.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: After 20 years, Mexican cop 'El Diablo' to face murder trial