Fugitive From North Texas Prison Caught After More Than 2 Decades

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - After more than 22 years on the run, a fugitive that ran from a North Texas prison is back behind bars, the U.S. Marshals said in a news release Wednesday.

Juan Carlos Marin-Cardona was sentenced to 70 months in prison after he was convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance in January of 1993.

Marin-Cardona, a Colombian national, had been caught by U.S. Customs with nearly 5 kilograms of liquid cocaine at the Miami International Airport and convicted of his charges in a trial by jury.

On November 3, 1994, Marin-Cardona escaped from the federal Eden Detention Center in Eden, Texas and disappeared. In addition to the 46 months Marin-Cardona owed to the Bureau of Prisons, he was charged with Escape by the Northern District of Texas, San Angelo Division.

Deputy U.S. Marshals located Marin-Cardona in Bogota, Colombia living under a new identity.

Marin-Cardona, now known as Alexander Rey, was known to travel internationally between Europe and South America. On a visit to Mexico, Marin-Cardona was identified as an undesirable person and sent back to Colombia.

Marin-Cardona was returned to Colombia via a layover in Houston.

When he got to Houston, U.S. Marshals took Marin-Cardona into custody. He will be returned to San Angelo for arraignment on the escape charge.