Puerto Rican prison escapee caught in Florida after 40 years on the run

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A fugitive who escaped a Puerto Rican prison 40 years ago was apprehended in Florida.

"My team’s skill is unmatched at every level; even if your crimes don’t start here in Lee County, I promise, they WILL end here," said Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), the Puerto Rico Department of Justice contacted them about Jorge Milla-Valdes who escaped a Puerto Rican prison in 1987. Furthermore, they told LCSO that Milla Valdes was hiding under the assumed name, Luis Aguirre, which was linked to a criminal history that included robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in Monroe County.

See also: Florida authorities nab diver in spearfishing bust, search for second suspect continues

The LCSO's Fugitive Warrants Unit reported that they launched a search for Milla-Valdes and secured original fingerprints from Puerto Rico from 1986 and compared them with those from his Monroe County criminal record.

Officials said that the fingerprints were matched within just 15 minutes, the identification confirmed that Aguirre and Milla-Valdes were indeed the same person.

With this information, deputies found Milla-Valdes in Ft. Myers Shores just two hours later and he was taken into custody without incident.

Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter to get the day's top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the biggest stories and can't miss video.