U.S Marshals & Yuma Police Department Announce the Arrest of Jorge Hernandez-Cordova

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
June 05, 2007 Deputy Joshua Butout, Public Information Officer
(602) 382-8775


U.S Marshals & Yuma Police Department Announce the Arrest of Jorge Hernandez-Cordova

On June 3, 2007, Father Jorge Cordova was arrested in Spain via authority of a provisional arrest warrant. He is awaiting extradition back to the United States.

Cordova was wanted for ten counts of Sexual Abuse in Yuma County. An investigation by the Yuma Police Department led to his indictment in Yuma County Superior Court on August 30, 2006. Cordova is accused of sexually abusing two minors during his assignment to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Yuma from 1988 to 1991. Cordova fled to his home diocese in Ecuador before the warrant was issued.

The Yuma Police Department contacted the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Mexican Investigative Liaison Unit (MIL) requesting assistance in locating Cordova. During the joint investigation, information was developed that he was traveling to Spain. The USMS MIL unit coordinated efforts to obtain a provisional warrant to arrest Cordova in Spain and return him to the United States.

United States Marshal David Gonzales praised the work of deputies and agents, “This type of coordination between the USMS MIL Unit, Yuma Police Department and Law Enforcement authorities in Spain proves to be an effective tool in locating fugitives who leave the U.S. to avoid prosecution.”

The United States Marshals HIDTA Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Mexican Investigative Liaison Unit consists of deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service and Agents from the United States Border Patrol. The task force also has elements in Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Flagstaff. Statewide, the task force arrested over 2000 federal, state and local fugitives during 2003.

For further information on the U.S. Marshals Service, go to www.usmarshals.gov