[ICE Public Affairs Update] ICE ’most wanted fugitive’ captured in Colorado following local news report. Public tip helped officers capture Jose Victor Bonilla-Melendez, a previously deported convicted sex offender ‐ and his brother, a previously deported convicted child sex offenderWASHINGTON ‐ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Denver Fugitive Operations team officers arrested one of ERO’s most wanted fugitives Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado, making a second arrest in the process.
Jose Victor Bonilla-Melendez, aka Anthony Garcia-Melendez, 48, a citizen of Honduras, was located after ERO received a tip about his whereabouts from someone who saw a social media post by the local Denver ABC affiliate regarding his inclusion among ICE’s most wanted fugitives. Bonilla‐Melendez was wanted by ICE for removal from the U.S. as convicted sex offender, last seen in Aurora.
Bonilla-Melendez has a criminal history that includes felony convictions for assault causing serious bodily injury, sexual assault, and unlawful re-entry of a deported alien. He has been removed from the U.S. on two prior occasions, most recently on April 5, 2006. On Dec. 7, 2014, the Aurora Police Department arrested him on local charges, but the subject posted bond before an ICE detainer could be placed. Despite numerous attempts by ICE to locate his whereabouts, he remained at-large.