May 3, 2007

Suspected double murderer, rapist arrested in Idaho Falls

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - A suspected double murderer from Mexico was arrested here yesterday during a joint operation among U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U. S. Marshals Service, Idaho State Police and the FBI.

Joel Randu Escalante-Orosco, 32, has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Mexico for raping and murdering his sister-in-law in Chihuahua, Mexico. He's also the prime suspect in a similar rape and murder of a single mother that occurred earlier in Phoenix, Ariz., in March 2001. Escalante-Orosco and the Phoenix murder were highlighted on the "America's Most Wanted" television show.

Escalante-Orosco was arrested at 7:30 a.m. at his apartment in the 1800 block of 16th St. in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Federal agents had received a tip that Escalante-Orosco was in the area, and that there was a warrant for his arrest on murder charges in Mexico.

"This significant arrest further demonstrates to criminal aliens that they cannot use the United States as a haven from justice," said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. "The various law enforcement agencies that teamed up to investigate and execute this arrest represent law enforcement cooperation at its best." Copp heads a four-state area that includes: Idaho, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.

Escalante-Orosco is currently in ICE custody on immigration violations. ICE is processing him for deportation back to Mexico. However, ICE is also working with Phoenix law enforcement to first determine the status of murder and rape charges there. The U.S. Attorney, District of Idaho, has accepted the case to criminally prosecute Escalante-Orosco for illegally entering the United States.

This arrest is part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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