The U.S. Marshals, in a multi-state operation involving California and Arizona agencies, nabbed Monica Irene Delao, 50, in Blythe, California, on February 12, marking the end of her time on the lam for a parole violation linked to an original narcotics charge, reported by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Delao's run from justice began with an absconder parole warrant issued by the Arizona Department of Corrections on February 4th, after she evaded supervision and failed to meet her parole obligations, coming on the heels of a history replete with legal missteps including misconduct with weapons, drug possession, robbery, and burglary to name but a few according to the case details that were taken up by the USMS Arizona Violent Offender Task Force (AZVOTF).
Investigators of the AZVOTF managed to piece together Delao's whereabouts, tracking her to a residence she shared with Rene Tapia, her 35-year-old boyfriend, they sent this information along the wire to their colleagues at the USMS El Centro Fugitive Task Force and local law enforcement including the Riverside County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) and the Blythe Police Department who set up surveillance and made their move with a routine knock and talk strategy that led to Delao's arrest without further incident.
Law enforcement officers, while wrapping up their search of the property, stumbled upon various illicit items sitting right there in plain sight, methamphetamine, hallucinogenic mushrooms, ammunition, and multiple firearms, resulting in the arrest of Tapia, who as a restricted individual, should not have been in possession of such items, subsequently raining down on him fresh charges from the RCSO of being a felon in possession, both of them were then taken away, Delao to answer to the outstanding Arizona warrant and Tapia facing local charges.
