Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, escaped from Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, Virginia, on Sunday, April 30th in the wee hours of the morning. He made it all the way to Mexico before being captured, reportedly, by Mexican authorities. Sotelo was imprisoned for the murder of a North Carolina police officer.
The FBI, announcing Sotelo’s escape from prison and offering a $70,000 reward for information that would lead to his arrest, said, “Alder Alfonso Marin Sotelo is wanted for escaping from a jail during the early morning hours of April 30, 2023. Marin Sotelo was seen on surveillance video climbing a fence and escaping from the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, Virginia. Marin Sotelo was being held on federal weapons charges at the time of his escape. He is also charged with the murder of a sheriff’s deputy in Wake County, North Carolina, in August of 2022.”
Continuing, the FBI said, “A federal arrest warrant was issued for Marin Sotelo on May 1, 2023, by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, after he was charged with Escape from Custody.”
The FBI then announced that Sotelo was captured in Mexico in a May 4th Twitter post, saying, “Alder Alfonso Marin Sotelo was taken into custody by Mexican authorities on May 4, 2023, after 13:00 EST, in the state of Guerrero. The investigation to determine his exact movements is ongoing.”
Alder Alfonso Marin Sotelo was taken into custody by Mexican authorities on May 4, 2023, after 13:00 EST, in the state of Guerrero. The investigation to determine his exact movements is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/1yUKyd9tgT
— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) May 4, 2023
ABC 11 corroborated those detail in its report on his escape and capture in Mexico, saying:
Alder Marin-Sotelo, who escaped from a Virginia jail where he was being held on charges connecting to the killing of a Wake County deputy, has been captured four days after his brazen jailbreak.
The FBI said Marin-Sotelo was taken into custody by Mexican authorities early Thursday afternoon in the state of Guerrero, located south of Mexico City on the country’s Pacific Coast. That’s about 2,400 miles away from the Virginia jail and roughly a 44-hour drive.
The agency is still investigating to figure out his exact movements since the moment he escaped from the Piedmont Regional Jail on April 30.
The FBI said the getaway car that Marin-Sotelo drove has not yet been found. The FBI is asking anyone who sees the red Ford Mustang with tips or information to contact (800) CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. The car had a temporary North Carolina license tag.
Commenting on Soleto’s murder of a North Carolina deputy in 2022, some on Twitter were reminded of former President Donald Trump’s comment that Mexico isn’t sending its best to America. In that statement, Trump said, in a statement that infuriated many liberals and self-professed “centrists”:
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The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
Featured image credit: FBI