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Abraham Lucero, 46, of Norwalk, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 18, following an intense six-month search after Stamford Police received a tip he was in the area after years on the run, said Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin.
Conklin said Lucero, who was 28 and living in Stamford, was arrested in 2001 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at least three times.
Lucero threatened the girl by saying he would kill her if she didn't have sex with him or told anyone, Conklin said.
When arrested in 2002, he was charged with sexual assault of a victim between 13 and 15 years old, three counts of illegal sexual contact, two counts of sexual assault by force.
He eventually made bond, but when his court date came, Lucero failed to show up, Conklin said. He was ordered rearrested in 2003.
For the next 17 years Stamford Police had been keeping an eye out for Lucero until six months ago when officers in the Narc Squad received a tip that he had moved back into the area, Conklin said.
Police kept receiving tips and had several times when they missed catching him by days and sometimes even minutes.
But Conklin said one investigator, Officer Will Guray kept at it and managed to discover that Lucero was living in Norwalk and would drop off a child in Stamford on weekday mornings.
Guray and others set up surveillance and managed to make a traffic stop.
When stopped Lucero appeared very nervous and gave officers a Maryland driver's license in the name of Guillermo Juarez-Ramos, Conklin said.
Officers informed Lucero they knew who he really was but Lucero kept denying his real identity, Conklin said.
Officers, who had his old case file with them, then showed Lucero mug shots and pictures of his tattoos from his earlier arrest. That's when he broke down and became very emotional and admitted he had been hiding under the assumed name.
Conklin said Lucero told officers he was "astonished" they had tracked him down after so many years of living under a fake name.
Lucero was arrested again and is being held on a $260,00 bond.
"Special recognizance should be given to Will Guray for his work on the case, "Conklin said.
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