FOLLOWING a 12-year search, one of the FBI’s most wanted suspects has been found posing as yoga instructor.
Jorge Rueda Landeros was arrested on December 13 in Guadalajara, Mexico, after being linked to a homicide more than a decade ago.
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Now known as León Ferrara, the imposter had been under the guise of a yoga teacher and operated a studio in western Mexico.
Recent pictures showed him running a class in his zen impersonation, which was frequented by many customers.
However, little to his student’s knowledge, Mr Landeros was wanted by the US crime agency in connection to a murder in Bethesda, Maryland.
The homicide happened in 2010, and involved Sue Marcum who was found dead in the basement of her home.
At the time, Mr Landeros was named as the alleged prime suspect but was never located during the investigations.
According to the FBI’s most wanted list, he had been on the run until his arrest this year.
Mr Landeros now faces charges of alleged first-degree murder and alleged unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Spanish news El Pais interviewed the man whilst he was in custody, in which he pleaded his innocence to the alleged charges.
He said: “I am innocent… not of everything, obviously, but of what I’m being accused of.
“Once I disappeared from the radar, I completely forgot about the investigation.
“I still have difficulty responding to the name Jorge – I hardly have any of him inside of me anymore.”
He is a dual citizen of both the US and Mexico, and is understood to be awaiting extradition to America.
However, the news of Mr Landeros being behind bars shocked his former students.
Maria, a yoga student, told El Pais she filed a missing persons report when Mr Landeros did not turn up to his classes.
She said: “When I filed the report, the cops said ‘your friend isn’t missing, he’s in custody and has an Interpol file… We can’t tell you more’.
“I feel like I’m grieving, I know León, but I don’t know who Jorge is.
“If I ever have the opportunity to sit down with him, I’ll have to ask him a lot of questions.”
As the alleged criminal awaits trial, Montgomery County, who has jurisdiction over his case, praised the work of the international policing community.
Marcus Jones, police chief, said: “We are happy they were able to snatch him after all the years.
“This is a fabulous outcome to get this guy in custody.”
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