***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2019

ONE OF PROSECUTOR’S “MOST WANTED FUGITIVES” CAPTURED

Media Contact: Vicki Elaine Becker (574) 296-1888

In 2007, Ricardo Garcia, also known as Simon Ugarte, was charged with two Class A felony counts of Dealing in Cocaine, and an arrest warrant was issued. Garcia eluded arrest for more than a decade, and had been determined to be one of Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney’s “Most Wanted fugitives.”

Garcia’s name, photo, and information had been placed on the Prosecutor’s website page for “Featured Fugitives,” as well as publicized at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, and “Night Out Against Crime” community events. As a result of these efforts, a tip came into the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that Ricardo Garcia may be working at a local business.

Prosecutor’s Investigator David Floerchinger, of the Child Support Division of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, pursued the information from the tip. Photos, addresses, and phone numbers were cross matched with Garcia’s alias names, and a pattern began to emerge. Floerchinger discovered Garcia was using yet another alias, Jose Alica, using a false social security number, and working locally.

With the assistance of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, and the company that had been employing Garcia, on June 18, 2019, Garcia was apprehended without incident.

Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Elaine Becker is grateful that we live in a community where collaborative efforts between community members, law enforcement agencies, and the Prosecutor’s Office result in accountability for people who believe they are above the law.

Garcia was also wanted for failing to appear for a separate charge of Forgery, a Class C felony.

***

“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”