U.S. marshals want to send a message to fugitives like Jose Orlando Torres, an illegal immigrant wanted on rape and weapons charges.
“We will never stop looking for you,” said Matt Burke, supervisory inspector with the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. “You may have hid and run for a few months or a few years, but we will be there one day, sooner or later, to bring you in.”
Torres is a member of The Examiner‘s Top 10 Most Wanted criminals in the capital region. Examiner readers have helped marshals catch violent sex offenders, con artists and kidnappers who have been on the run for years. Burke is asking for the public’s help again, and he wants the victims of personal and violent crimes to know that “there are law enforcement officials out there every day, looking for the people that are suspected of causing others harm.”
Torres, a 34-year-old native of El Salvador, is wanted by Montgomery County police in connection with a strong-arm rape and assault in February 2004. Torres has already been deported at least once, from New Orleans in 1994 after he was found guilty of weapons offenses. He also has been arrested and charged with other weapons offenses, assaults, thefts and destruction of property.
If found in the United States, Torres faces additional federal charges of illegally re-entering the country.
Torres has no known ties. He has lived in Langley Park and Silver Spring, and may have lived in Northern Virginia at some point.
Police list him as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds.
Anyone with information about Torres’ whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 301-489-1717 or 800-336-0102. Law enforcement is offering a reward for information leading to his arrest.
The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, comprises 28 federal, state and local agencies from Baltimore to Norfolk. The unit has captured 23,000 wanted fugitives since its creation in 2004.
