American fugitive arrested in Tarlac after two years on run from justice

American arrested Tarlac

An American convicted for attempted murder in California has been arrested in Tarlac City after hiding out in the Philippines for nearly two years.

Ricky Masanque Sanchez, aged 44, was arrested at his residence by agents of the Bureau of Immigration, it was announced today (Monday, June10).

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BI Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) head Bobby Raquepo said Sanchez was arrested last Thursday under a mission order issued at the request of the US embassy in Manila.

“When we received information about his crimes from US authorities about four weeks ago, we immediately conducted a case buildup to pinpoint his location,” Mr Raquepo said in a statement.

According to the information provided by the US authorities, Sanchez was convicted of attempted murder but was later released on supervised parole.

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Then, a superior court in Santa Clara, California, ordered the re-arrest of Sanchez in September 2017 after confirming that he fled to the Philippines.

Prisoners freed on parole supervision in the US are normally required to regularly report to their parole officer and are prohibited from leaving the state without permission. 

It has not been confirmed how he was able to leave the country and reach the Philippines on August 18, 2017. It is not known how long he had been hiding out in Tarlac City.

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Sanchez will be immediately deported after the BI Board of Commissioners has completed the necessary paperwork.

Sanchez is only the latest American fugitive to be arrested in the Philippines this year.

On Friday, we reported how an American wanted in Connecticut for child molestation and pornography was arrested in Davao City while applying to extend his tourist visa.

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said that 33-year-old Jason Eric Keller was arrested after he turned up at the BI’s district office last Thursday.

“He seemed unaware that we already have information about his crimes, and that he is already on our watchlist of wanted foreign fugitives,” he said in a statement.

Like Sanchez, he is now in custody awaiting deportation.

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