American fugitive nabbed in Sultan Kudarat

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested in Sultan Kudarat a 54-year old American wanted by authorities in Texas for a string of criminal cases. (Photo by Eugene Alvin Villar (seav) (English Wikipedia) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)])

Steven Wayne Riley was apprehended at his home in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat by BI agents armed with mission order signed by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente on March 14.

The order was issued at the request of the US embassy in Manila which sought the BI’s help in locating the fugitive so he could be deported to the US to stand trial for his crimes.

In a statement, Morente said that last Jan. 13, a district court in Denton, Texas issued an arrest warrant against Riley upon learning that he had jumped bail and fled the US. He was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a 45-year-old woman.

The foreigner was also indicted for causing bodily injury to a family member; larceny; violation of protective order by assaulting and stalking his former victim; disturbance of public peace; harassment; drunk driving; and misdemeanor.

“Undoubtedly, his presence here poses a risk to public safety. We should deport him immediately or he might prey on 0ur women and children,” Morente said.

It was learned that being a registered sex offender in the US, Riley is required to periodically appear in person to local law enforcement authorities to enable them to keep track of his residence and activities.

On the other hand, BI OIC Associate Commissioner Jose Carlitos Licas noted that Riley’s passport has been revoked by the State Department, making him an undocumented alien who is subject to summary deportation.

He added that the American will be blacklisted and banned from re-entering the Philippines after he is deported.