Overview
- Police detained Richard José Bustamante Herrera in Independencia on Tuesday after a control operation and AFIS fingerprint checks showed he had presented himself as Leonardo Miguel Morales Colmenares.
- The Poder Judicial sentenced him in January to 20 years for a 2023 homicide in Independencia that left victim Jhonny Bones dead, a ruling authorities say he had been evading.
- PNP officials say Bustamante Herrera used the false Colombian identity for about two years to avoid arrest and that AFIS biometric matching was key to confirming his real name and nationality.
- Authorities report he has six prior complaints for illicit drug trafficking and some media accounts say he was seized allegedly distributing drugs; he is held at the Independencia comisaría pending transfer to the Ministerio Público.
- The capture forms part of stepped-up PNP operations in Lima Norte to locate requisitoriados and disrupt organized crime, and prosecutors will investigate possible links to other violent incidents in the area.