Violent prisoner who escaped nearly 4 decades years ago caught in Florida
An escaped Puerto Rican prisoner who disappeared nearly four decades ago has been captured in Florida, local authorities said.
According to officials, Jorge Milla-Valdes, age 63, escaped from a prison in Puerto Rico in 1987.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported The Puerto Rico Department of Justice reached out to the office to alert them they believed Milla-Valdes was hiding under the name Luis Aguirre.
The department reported Milla-Valdes had criminal history under that name, including robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, in Monroe County − the southernmost county in The Sunshine State which includes Key West.
An alias, a fingerprint match and an arrest
According to the Fort Meyers News-Press, part of the Paste BN Network, Lee County jail records list a 2023 arrest under Aguirre's name with a fraudulent date of birth on charges of failure to appear for a misdemeanor offense, a moving traffic violation and a parole violation.
The arrest under Aguirre's name shows a March 16, 1963, date of birth while the latest arrest lists it as May 22, 1961.
The sheriff's office said officers obtained Milla-Valdes' original 1986 fingerprints from Puerto Rico and a set from his criminal history in Monroe County which matched the prints and confirmed Aguirre and Milla-Valdes was the same person.
According to a post on the agency's Facebook page, two hours after the ID, authorities found Milla-Valdes in Fort Myers Shores and took him into custody.
"Thanks to the hard work and determination of my Fugitive Warrants Unit and Latent Fingerprints Supervisor Tina Carver, a positive fingerprint identification was made within minutes," Sheriff Carmine Marceno released in a statement after the arrest. "Even if your crimes don’t start here in Lee County, I promise, they will end here.”
Fugitive who escaped Puerto Rico prison jailed in Florida
Milla-Valdes remained in custody Thursday on $10,000 bond facing an out-of-county warrant.
Online court documents show he obtained a court-appointed public defender in the case.
Paste BN has reached out to the attorney.
As of Thursday, his next court appearance was not listed online.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.