A man who escaped a Puerto Rican prison nearly four decades ago used a sneaky tactic to avoid law enforcement’s capture.
Jorge Milla-Valdes, 63, escaped from a Puerto Rico prison in 1987, fleeing and changing his name to avoid being taken into custody.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office believed Milla-Valdes, who had been hiding-out in Florida’s Lee County, was living under the alias, Luis Aguirre.
The sheriff’s office said Puerto Rican authorities reached out to their department about an escaped prisoner they believed may be living in Lee County.
The law enforcement agency said the Puerto Rico Department of Justice believed Milla-Valdes was hiding under the false title.
Milla-Valdes, while using his other name, had a criminal history which included robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in Monroe County.
Lee County’s 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.
Jorge Milla-Valdes, 63, cleverly escaped from a Puerto Rico prison in 1987, fleeing and changing his name to avoid being taken into custody
Officers take Jorge Milla-Valdes into custody on March 7
However, it wasn’t until the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Warrants unit obtained his fingerprints from 1986, taken in Puerto Rico, as well as the fingerprints from his criminal history in Monroe County, that they began their search.
‘Latent fingerprint supervisor Tina Carver took the two fingerprints and within 15 minutes, she was able to match the prints,’ the sheriff’s office told ABCNews.
The near-immediate confirmation solidified that Milla-Valdes and Aguirre were in fact the same person.
Just two hours after the fugitives unit was informed of the match, Milla-Valdes was taken into custody in Fort Myers Shores, according to the sheriff’s office.
‘They don’t want me. They told me about two times,’ Milla-Valdes told officers as he was taken into custody, police bodycam footage shows.
‘Now they do. They changed their mind,’ an arresting officer responded.
Just two hours after the fugitives unit was informed of the match, Milla-Valdes was taken into custody in Fort Myers Shores, according to the sheriff’s office. Pictured: Lee County officers search Milla-Valdes’ property in Florida
The sheriff’s office said Puerto Rican authorities reached out to their department about an escaped prisoner they believed may be living in Lee County (pictured)
‘My team’s skill is unmatched at every level; even if your crimes don’t start here in Lee County, I promise, they WILL end here,’ Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno (pictured) said
The sheriff applauded his unit’s expedited response.
‘My team’s skill is unmatched at every level; even if your crimes don’t start here in Lee County, I promise, they WILL end here,’ Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement.
Milla-Valdes remained in custody as of Saturday morning on $10,000 bond and is facing an out-of-county warrant.
