Thread: FUGITIVE ARRESTED: Sex offender says he's relieved his life

FUGITIVE ARRESTED: Sex offender says he's relieved his life on the run is over
http://greeleytribune.com/article/20050 ... /107130068



A man convicted of sexual assault on a child and on the run with his family since 1992 was arrested by Weld County Sheriff's Office deputies early Tuesday as he drove to work in west Greeley.

Abel Alvarado, 41, stood in handcuffs beside a deputy's car Tuesday and said he was relieved that his life as a fugitive was over. "I knew I was wanted, but my wife and kids needed me, so we kept moving. I was ready to be arrested."

And so he was. About 6:30 Tuesday morning, deputies waited for Alvarado in the 3600 block of 10th Street as he drove to his job at Bubba's Barbecue. He had a fake driver's license from Mexico, identifying him as Antonio Bustillos. It stated he was from Chihuahua.

But deputies Shane Scofield and Michelle Moore, operating with fugitive recovery deputy Tom Johnston, knew they had the right man. After speaking for a few minutes, Alvarado admitted he was the man they wanted.

Johnston was contacted by the El Paso, Texas, fugitive detail on Monday, telling him they'd located their long-lost fugitive in Greeley. Johnston contacted the management at Bubba's, and they cooperated by calling Alvarado in to work early Tuesday.

But as he approached the restaurant, Alvarado apparently saw the sheriff's cars parked in the next block, and he changed his path to the restaurant. The deputies followed, and Alvarado pulled into a driveway in the 900 block of 37th Avenue.

Because he apparently tried to drive away, deputies approached Alvarado's car with weapons drawn, and ordered Alvarado out of the vehicle. He surrendered without a struggle.

Alvarado said he has two children, ages 15 and 7, and he and his wife just bought a home in Greeley. "I don't know what will happen to them now," he said.

He was first arrested and convicted of indecency with a child in 1989. Ben Taylor, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office, said the charge usually involves fondling a child, but he wasn't sure what happened in Alvarado case.

The El Paso County District Attorney's office did not return calls Tuesday.

Alvarado was sentenced to five years in the Texas prison system in 1989 and was released in 1991. He was supposed to stay in touch with his parole officer and register with the state as a sexual offender, but he stopped in 1993, Taylor said. "That's when we went after him as a parole absconder," Taylor said.

Alvarado and his family moved several times in Texas, and then to Greeley in 2003. Taylor said they thought he was hiding out in Mexico in the past two years, but they weren't able to locate him there. Then, last week, someone who saw Alvarado's name and photo on the Texas Attorney General's Web site called the Crimestopper's office in El Paso. They called the Weld sheriff's office.

Alvarado was booked into the Weld County Jail and will be extradited to Texas. He is being held without bail.

Johnston said he ran a records check on Alvarado and on his alias, but nothing came up showing an arrest or even a ticket in this area in the past two years. There also haven't been any reports in this area of sexual assaults involving Alvarado.

So is he from Mexico or is he American?

Hmmm.

Glad they got him.