After two years on the run, a New York father on the U.S. Marshals Service’s “15 Most Wanted” list has been arrested over the death of his son.
Anthony Ojeda, aka Erik Jonathan Donas-Ojeda, and husband Neil Garzon were captured Wednesday in Mexico City, the agency said in a press release.
In December 2019, police in Cohoes, New York, had responded to a call about an unresponsive 6-week-old at Ojeda’s apartment, the press release said.
The man’s son, Eli Ojeda, was soon pronounced dead at a hospital, with an autopsy showing that he’d died from acute methamphetamine toxicity and physical trauma.
At the time, the father was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. In addition, he and Garzon were both charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and were released on bond.
The Marshals Service said that the two failed to appear at a hearing in August 2021 and fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution.
Anthony Ojeda was eventually placed on the agency’s “15 Most Wanted Fugitives” list, which aims to bring “attention to some of the country’s most dangerous and high-profile fugitives.” The Marshals Service did not respond to HuffPost’s request for details on Ojeda’s placement on the list.
Following his capture by Interpol in Mexico, Ojeda is awaiting extradition back to the U.S. However, Garzon has already been released into U.S. custody, and faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child and hindering prosecution.
It’s unclear whether Ojeda and Garzon have retained legal counsel. The public defender’s office in Albany County, where Cohoes is located, did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.
Todd Waldin, the chief of the Cohoes Police Department, told local news station WNYT that the case was significant for his team and community.
“This homicide involving a 6-week-old child it is huge for us and for the people of Cohoes and I think even beyond the city of Cohoes to know that these two will be brought to justice now,” he said.