A man wanted in connection with the Falls Township homicide of Jeronimo Villatoro was arrested by authorities in upstate New York on Tuesday.
Credit: Bucks County Detectives
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest Wednesday evening.
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Juan Antonio Marques-Villeda of Trenton is accused of fleeing the West Post Road scene of the October 19 murder. Police have said in the past they suspect Marques-Villeda had a large role in the beating and stabbing that killed Villatoro.
Numerous local, state and federal authorities in Bucks County, New Jersey and New York assisted with the capture of Marques-Villeda.
“This was an extraordinary example of cooperation between many law enforcement agencies,” District Attorney David Heckler said.
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Officials did not immediately release how they came to capture Marques-Villeda in Rensselaer County, New York, which is outside of Albany, New York.
Officials said that Marques-Villeda will be arraigned in Pennsylvania on the charges connected to the homicide after extradition laws have been complied with.
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Brothers Eric Sarceno, 24, and Magnor Sarceno, 19, both of Trenton, are already in police custody in connection with the murder. Eric Sarceno was changed with hindering apprehension, possession of an instrument of crime and tampering/fabricating evidence, and Magnor Sarceno is being held without bail as a material witness.
The Sarceno brothers were arrested by Morrisville police moments after the violent assault on their drinking buddy around 8:30 a.m. on October 19. Bucks County authorities were able to hold the men for several days on U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement detainers.
Marques-Villeda fled the scene and was not located by police in Bucks County after a search that involved several officers, a police dog and a New Jersey State Police helicopter. Investigators searched Trenton in the days after the murder in an effort to find Marques-Villeda.
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Officials have stated all four men involved are undocumented immigrants.
Police said an argument about Villatoro ’s behavior during a night of partying is believed to have led to his beating and stabbing on a lonely part of West Post Road, which is on the Falls and Morrisville border. It has been reported that the three men did not initially intend to kill the man after coming to Morrisville from an illegal speakeasy in Trenton.
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The assault was called in to 9-1-1 after a nearby resident saw something happening on West Post Road while he drank his morning cup of coffee.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
All four men arrived in Morrisville in a white work van police have processed for evidence.
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Investigators collected surveillance video from the church nearby the crime scene. A church official told LevittownNow.com the building has 16 cameras and all video were turned over to investigators.
Assistant Bucks County District Attorney Bob James said investigators recovered a tool they suspect was used as a weapon in the attack.
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Heckler said the Morrisville Borough Police Department, Falls Township Police Department, Mercer County Homicide Task Force, Trenton City Police Department, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, New Jersey State Police, Bristol Township Police Department, New York State Police, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI were all involved in the investigation.
