Latest news with #Riano
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trial begins for man accused in 2004 Hamilton murder
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The murder trial has started for man featured on a 2005 episode of 'America's Most Wanted' and found working in Mexico last year. Antonio Riano, 63, was captured in Mexico in 2024 working as a police officer. Riano is accused of fatally shooting 25-year-old Benjamin Becarra outside of a Hamilton bar in 2004. A court filing from the attorney of the accused man shows an argument of self-defense could be presented. Online Butler County court records show Riano's trial is scheduled to last until at least Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Murder trial for 'El Diablo' begins with opening statements
Jun. 11—Antonio Riano does not deny he shot Benjamin Becarra outside a Hamilton bar 20 years ago. But his defense attorneys this week will try to prove he did it in self defense. The murder trial for Riano, also known as 'El Diablo,' began today with opening statements after jurors were chosen Tuesday in a Butler County Common Pleas courtroom. The prosecution said the 63-year-old Mexican national said he ruthlessly shot the 25-year-old Becarra in the face on Dec. 19, 2024, with a .38 Smith & Wesson. The defense said Riano was at a breaking point, claiming he and his family were terrorized by the man he shot. Assistant prosecutor Michael Hon led the proceedings Wednesday with his opening statement before a jury of 12 and two alternates. The facts show that the two men were at the Round House Bar on East Avenue and Long Street. Riano was inside when Becarra walked through a door off Long Street. An argument ensued, which had continued outside the bar. Hon said Riano fired a shot into the ground, and Becarra told a cousin to call 911. Then Riano walked away, but turned back, and they continued arguing. A bystander from the bar stood between the two men, but Hon said Riano pulled out his gun, stretched his arm over that bystander, and shot Becarra in the face. Defense attorney Kara Blackney said the shooting was in self-defense, and told the jury her client had "enough." She said Becarra and his friends terrorized him and his family — he had a wife and three children under 10 at the time — and allegedly attacked his younger brother. "Antonio wasn't going to the Round House Bar looking for a fight," Blackney said, adding his "El Diablo" nickname stems from volunteer work for his church as a teenager. "The fight found him." Blackney said the shooting happened mid-afternoon on Dec. 19, 2004, and Becarra said his blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit and tested positive for cocaine. She was also told he was not permitted in that bar, as well as others, due to a fight the day prior. Hon told the jurors that the evidence presented and the witnesses called "may seem out of order to you," mostly in part due to navigating schedules and travel of witnesses, "it will all come together at the end." Butler County authorities worked the case for two decades with federal authorities to bring Riano back to Hamilton on the murder charge. According to Blackney, Riano fled Hamilton, going to New Jersey before heading to Mexico, where he had lived for the past 20 years, including working as a police officer in his hometown. Riano was indicted on the murder charge in February 2005. He was extradited back to the United States with the help of the U.S. Marshals Office and other authorities on Aug. 1.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Mexican cop 'El Diablo' set to go on trial for 2004 killing
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
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
Mexican cop 'El Diablo' arrested in 2004 deadly shooting says he was shot at first
Investigators waited nearly 20 years to interview Antonio Riano about a fatal shooting outside a Hamilton bar and when he finally sat down with police, he admitted to opening fire on 25-year-old Benjamin Becerra Ramirez during a skirmish. Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster Jr. ruled during a hearing on Friday that the 63-year-old Riano knowingly and intelligently waived his constitutional rights when speaking with investigators at the Hamilton Police Department last August. Riano is expected to be tried on a murder charge April 1 and prosecutors will likely present his statements to police as evidence to the jury. Prosecutors say Riano shot Becerra Ramirez in the head with a .38-caliber revolver outside a bar on East Avenue in December 2004. Riano was indicted on a murder charge in 2005 and arrested last year by Mexican law enforcement in his hometown of Zapotitlan Palmas in Oaxaca, where he was working as a police officer. After being extradited to the U.S., Riano told police during a roughly 90-minute interview that he went to confront a group after getting word that his younger brother had been assaulted, according to a transcript of the interview displayed in court. The group attacked Riano while outside the bar and he retrieved a gun from his truck and fired two shots toward the group, the transcript states. Riano's attorney, Kara Blackney, said that Riano also told police that he'd been shot at first. After interviewing witnesses, investigators identified Riano as the suspect and learned he was commonly referred to as 'El Diablo,' a former Hamilton police detective wrote in an affidavit. Prosecutors said surveillance video also showed Riano pull out a revolver and open fire on Becerra. Police 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 have 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 Riano, however, they were told that he had just 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 him 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,' however, an earlier attempt to arrest him in Mexico was unsuccessful. Paul Newtown, lead investigator with the Butler County Prosecutor's Office, eventually stumbled upon Riano's Facebook account, which included a video of him. Riano's attorney argued in court on Friday that his statements to the police should be thrown out because detectives failed to properly advise him of his constitutional rights in Spanish, his native language. In a February court filing, Blackney said Riano has lived the majority of his life in Mexico and has a limited understanding of the English language. She added that the officer who interviewed Riano 'appears to not be fluent in Spanish' and that Riano was not asked if he understood his rights before signing a waiver form. She also pointed to the English transcript of the interview, in which a third-party translator notes multiple times that the officer used either non-Spanish words or words that were grammatically incorrect. However, Lt. Eric Taylor, who performed the interview, testified he was born in Columbia and that Spanish is his first language, adding that he regularly uses Spanish in his capacity as a police officer. Taylor noted several discrepancies between what the translator heard and what he remembers telling Riano while reading from a Miranda warning card written in Spanish. 'He understood it clearly,' Taylor said in court. The judge ultimately found that Riano answered the detective's questions directly and never expressed concerns that he did not understand his rights. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mexican cop says he returned fire in Ohio fatal shooting decades ago
