Archuleta, Francisco 2

Los Angeles County (CA) Jail Booking Photo
Francisco Villa Archuleta

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office has been working in partnership with the US Marshal’s Colorado Violent Offender Task Force, in an effort to apprehend Francisco Villa Archuleta since the beginning of June. Archuleta is wanted in connection with the alleged sexual assault of multiple child victims in cases being investigated by both the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and the Yuma Police Department.

The Sheriff’s Office worked closely with the Marshal’s Service and the Yuma Police Department to develop leads in reference to Archuleta’s location. By the end of July, the Sheriff’s Office was writing search warrants for social media accounts, the Marshal’s Service had issued a federal warrant for flight to avoid prosecution, and many of the leads gathered were beginning to point to Archuleta being in the Los Angeles area.

On Friday, July 31st Archuleta was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in connection to an arson investigation conducted by their agency. Archuleta provided law enforcement officers with a false identity and was booked into their jail under the name he provided. On Tuesday, August 4th, fingerprints collected from Archuleta during his book-in revealed his true identity to law enforcement officials there, and the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office was notified.

Sheriff Chad Day commented, “This arrest is an interesting example of how fugitives who have been on the run can often be caught by mere fluke, even when proactive efforts are being made to apprehend them. Sometimes the added pressure of knowing that they are being pursued can cause them to slip up and get caught.”

Although not captured by the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office or the Marshal’s Service directly, Sheriff Day believes that Archuleta’s capture continues to demonstrate how valuable and productive the partnership with the Marshal’s Service has been. “This announcement comes only a couple short weeks after the announcement of the capture of another high-profile fugitive with the help of the Marshal’s Service in Oklahoma,” says Day. “It’s a source of pride to see the hard work of my staff paying off in such a tangible way.  I’m encouraged and the community should be as well.”

Archuleta is being charged with Sex Assault on a Child – Pattern of Abuse, Sex Assault on a Child, and Incest in at least one of the cases being investigated locally. There will likely be similar charges filed soon in the remaining cases. He is currently in custody at the Los Angeles County Jail and will be held without bail until he is extradited back to Yuma County.