Horacio Mejia-Villegas, a man accused of child rape and aggravated sexual battery in Alcoa, was arrested in a Lexington, Kentucky restaurant where he worked, according to WVLT. Following an extensive manhunt by U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement across East Tennessee, Mejia-Villegas was tracked to Kentucky as part of a collaborative effort to evade capture.
It was in Kentucky, at a dining establishment along Richmond Road, where Mejia-Villegas was apprehended. When discovered, he attempted to pass himself as someone else by providing a false name. Despite his efforts, federal agents detained him, and he is currently awaiting extradition to Tennessee, WBIR reported. The arrest involved multiple agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Information by WATE disclosed that Mejia-Villegas was earlier deported to Guatemala on unrelated charges and was flagged by federal immigration enforcement for deportation after potential conviction and sentence. The Blount County Sheriff’s Department, upon receiving a tip that Mejia-Villegas had re-entered the U.S., initiated the hunt that eventually led to his capture.
Law enforcement's persistence is underscored by the fact that after Mejia-Villegas learned he was being pursued again, he fled to Lexington, Kentucky, changing locations and identities in an attempt to disappear. From multiple interviews and surveillance, marshals developed the lead that he was employed at the Lexington restaurant where he was eventually found. The victim's family has been notified of Mejia-Villegas’s capture, WBIR noted in its coverage.
