After a months-long manhunt that started in a small East Tennessee city and ended hundreds of miles away in the Midwest, U.S. Marshals arrested Alejandro Mancera Canchola in Indianapolis on Monday. Authorities say he is being held in Marion County while Tennessee officials work to bring him back to Campbell County on an attempted first-degree murder charge tied to a December 17, 2024 attack in LaFollette.
The LaFollette Attack
According to a U.S. Marshals Service press release, investigators allege that on December 17, 2024, Canchola went to his girlfriend’s home on South Avenue in LaFollette and slashed her throat, the blade reportedly breaking during the struggle. The woman was first treated at Tennova Medical Center in LaFollette, then transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville for more extensive care. Authorities say she has since recovered.
Arrest In Indianapolis
LaFollette police turned to the Knoxville U.S. Marshals office for help tracking the suspect. That trail, investigators say, led them to Indianapolis, where Canchola had been working under an assumed name at Desi Chowrastha. Marshals and members of a regional fugitive task force watched the restaurant and nearby area, eventually moving in to arrest him after he briefly tried to run from officers on foot, as reported by WYSH AM 1380.
How Marshals Traced Him To Indianapolis
On Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service says deputies with the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force confirmed his location in the Castleton and Clearwater Crossing area of Indianapolis. After surveillance of a nearby apartment, officers moved in. Federal officials say Canchola initially presented a false ID, but later admitted who he was, according to the agency’s statement.
Legal Next Steps
Canchola was taken to the Marion County Jail, where authorities say he is being held on an immigration detainer as Tennessee officials seek his transfer for prosecution. Mexican authorities have also been notified and are reported to have an outstanding interest in him in connection with a homicide case in Mexico, according to 99.1 The Sports Animal.
