June 30, 2022 - U.S. Marshal for the District of New Jersey, Juan Mattos, Jr., and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, jointly[...]

Newark, NJ - United States Marshal for the District of New Jersey, Juan Mattos, Jr., and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, jointly announce the location of one of New Jersey's Most Wanted Fugitives.

Anthony Mota, a fugitive on New Jersey's Most Wanted list for outstanding state charges including murder, kidnapping, racketeering, arson, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, and theft by extortion, has been located by a team of New Jersey State Police Detectives, U.S. Marshals, and Task Force Officers from the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJRFTF), and District of New Jersey.

On December 12, 1997, Mota allegedly kidnapped an adult male in New York City and transported him to New Jersey where he was held for ransom. Over the next four days, Mota and others bound and tortured the victim until they received a ransom amount of $23,000 from the victim's family. Shortly thereafter, the victim was taken by Mota to an area along Interstate 280 in Harrison, NJ and shot in the head and neck which resulted in his death. Mota then placed the victim's body in another vehicle where it was lit on fire.

On October 1, 1998, Mota was officially indicted on the charges to include a federal violation for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. Throughout the course of the investigation, the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit, the United States Marshals Service, and the NYPD Major Crimes unit made extensive efforts to locate and arrest Mota following the indictment but were unable to successfully locate him. Investigators believed Mota had fled the United States to his native country of the Dominican Republic but were still unable to locate him.

In 2021, New Jersey State Police Detectives and Deputy U.S. Marshals assigned to the NY/NJ RFTF, along with Deputy U.S. Marshals assigned to the U.S. Marshals Dominican Republic Foreign Field Office, developed information that Mota may be residing in Nizao, Dominican Republic. Multiple interviews conducted in the Dominican Republic and the United States revealed that Mota was living under the alias "Miguel Angel Gonzalez Perez," and started a new family in the Dominican Republic. It was further learned in June 2021, "Miguel Angel Gonzalez Perez," died of an apparent heart attack in the Dominican Republic.

During the 25-year investigation, investigators collected DNA evidence from various sources to assist in identifying Mota. In April of 2022, a New Jersey State Police Detective, Deputy U.S. Marshal, and New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropologist traveled from New Jersey to Nizao, Dominican Republic to participate in the exhumation of "Miguel Angel Gonzalez Perez" and collect DNA samples which were then hand-carried back to the New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropology Lab in Hamilton, NJ.

On June 3, 2022, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences received the result comparisons for the DNA. These results confirmed what New Jersey State Police Detectives had believed, "Miguel Angel Gonzalez Perez" was, in fact, New Jersey's Most Wanted Fugitive, Anthony Mota, thus signifying the closure of this quarter-century old case.

"Once it was determined that Mota fled from New Jersey, it was imperative that the U.S. Marshals deploy every asset available in order to help assist the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit to bring the suspect of this heinous crime to justice," said Juan Mattos Jr., United States Marshal for the District of New Jersey. "This is another prime example of how collaborative efforts among the U.S. Marshals Service, state law enforcement agencies, and our foreign field offices can work cohesively to end a fugitive's journey."

"This investigation is a testament to our relentless pursuit to not only locate one of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives, but our dedication to bring closure to the family of the victim that has suffered all these years," said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "With our local and federal partners, including the United States Marshals Service, we remain committed to using all of our resources and technology at our disposal to bring New Jersey's most wanted fugitives to justice."

The NY/NJ RFTF became operational in April of 2002. With Memorandum of Understandings with over 80 federal, state, or local agencies and five fully operational offices in the New York/New Jersey area, the NY/NJ RFTF has made an extraordinary impact on the investigation and apprehension of the region's most dangerous and violent fugitives.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

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