A man wanted on a bench warrant in Johnson County was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in upstate New York on Tuesday.
In a news release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Officer Mike Niezgoda said Border Patrol agents arrested Guillermo Lugardo-Valerio, 35, near Oswego, New York.
Oswego is located on the southeast shore of Lake Ontario, about 40 miles northwest of Syracuse.
According to the news release, Border Patrol agents had been provided information that Lugardo-Valerio was wanted in Johnson County for a parole violation and “is a known illegal alien.”
“In the early morning, agents recognized Guillermo Lugardo-Valerio operating a motor vehicle, initiated a traffic stop, and performed an immigration inspection,” Niezgoda said in the release. “Agents confirmed the driver was Lugardo-Valerio and arrested him.”
Johnson County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melody Webb confirmed that Lugardo-Valerio was arrested “as reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection” and that the information provided in Wednesday’s release “appears to be accurate as far as we can tell.”
JoCo case dates back to 2022 incident in Olathe
Johnson County District Court records show that Lugardo-Valerio was arrested by Olathe Police on October 16, 2022, following an alleged domestic violence incident.
The next day, he was charged with two felonies, battery of a law enforcement officer with bodily harm and criminal threat, along with two misdemeanor charges of interference with law enforcement and criminal damage under $1,000.
In February 2023, Lugardo-Valerio entered guilty pleas to both felony charges and the misdemeanor charge of criminal damage under $1,000.
Two months later, in April 2023, he was sentenced to one year in jail but was granted two years of probation instead.
Records show he did not appear at January hearing
Court records indicate that Lugardo-Valerio appeared late for a court hearing in October 2024 regarding an unspecified probation violation.
The case was continued until January 2025, when he failed to appear for a probation violation hearing, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office’s warrants page lists his last known city of residence as Kansas City, Missouri.
“This arrest can be attributed to our agent’s situational awareness and their diligence in locating illegal aliens,” Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge James Napoli said in the Border Patrol news release. “The dedication our agents have is relentless to securing our borders, and this arrest ends with a violent fugitive brought to justice.”
According to the release, Lugardo-Valerio has been transferred into the custody of the United States Marshal Service, Northern District of New York, and is awaiting extradition to Kansas.
