HAWTHORNE — On two occasions in the past week, Westchester County Police Warrant-Fugitive Unit detectives were waiting at JFK Airport to take custody of international fugitives who were brought back to the USA.
Both suspects are accused of committing serious crimes in Westchester before fleeing to avoid arrest.
WCPD coordinated extradition efforts with the U.S. Marshals and FBI agents who brought these suspects back to the United States.
Upon arrival at JFK, the suspects were turned over to the Warrant squad detectives, who transported them to headquarters for booking and then lodged them at the Westchester County Jail.
In the most recent arrival, a man indicted on robbery, burglary, grand larceny and other charges was returned to the United States from Colombia on Thursday.
Juan Cuartos Bustos, 25, was wanted since 2023, fleeing prior to the unsealing of an indictment against him.
He is suspected of being a member of a South American Theft Group that targeted Asian American business owners through burglaries and home invasion robberies.
The charges against him were the result of a successful investigation by the Tarrytown Police Department, White Plains Police Department, Westchester County Police and other law enforcement partners.
When a Westchester County Court warrant was issued for his arrest following indictment, the warrant was assigned to the Warrant-Fugitive Unit.
Detectives determined Bustos had fled to Colombia.
Last week, a fugitive wanted on a 2008 sealed indictment charging him with rape 1st degree and predatory sexual assault of a child was also returned to the United States from Mexico.
The Mount Vernon Police Department successfully investigated the initial complaint, leading to the indictment, and WFU also absorbed that case once a County Court warrant was issued for his arrest.
The open warrant was investigated regularly over the years, but WFU detectives found no indication that Galo Herrera, 52, had ever returned to the U.S. and most likely was still in Mexico.
Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor said, “We salute all the law enforcement agencies involved for their great work, from the departments that investigated these crimes initially, to the Mexican and Colombian police agencies that located them, to the federal agents that brought them back to this country.”
“These suspects tried to elude justice by fleeing, but now they face prosecution by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.”
The Westchester County Police Warrant-Fugitive Unit is tasked with locating and apprehending persons wanted on warrants issued by Westchester County Supreme Court, Westchester County Court and Westchester County Family Court.
In 2024, the Unit made 231 arrests of suspects wanted on warrants, including for attempted murder, assault 1st degree and various sex crimes, robbery and weapons charges.
The Unit executed warrants in virtually every municipality in Westchester, in every borough of New York City and throughout the metropolitan area.
