A Robertson County fugitive who was on the run for eleven years has been extradited back to Tennessee.
Authorities with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed the man was taken into custody on September 30 in Missouri.
The incident began in November 2005 when detectives with the Springfield Police Department said a man, who used the false identity of Joe Anthony Mercado Ortiz, was charged with four counts of child rape and five counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Authorities confirmed he had been arrested on November 15, 2005; however, he posted a $125,000 bond and failed to appear in court one week later.
A warrant was issued for Ortiz for failure to appear, but he wasn't seen by authorities for eleven years.
Due to coordinated efforts from the TBI, FBI, Springfield Police Department, and Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, information was developed that the man may be in Missouri on September 27 of this year.
TBI agents discovered he may be in Hayti, Missouri with a woman he fled from Tennessee with in 2005.
The man, known as Ortiz, was arrested at a Budget Inn in that area by officers with the Hayti Police Department on September 30.
Reports stated his real identity was unknown. Officers were able to identify him as the person they were looking for due to his tattoos.
He was initially booked in the Pemiscot Sheriff’s Office in Missouri, and authorities confirmed on Thursday he had been extradited back to Robertson County.
