Attempted First Degree Murder Suspect Arrested in North Carolina

The Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Warrant/Fugitive Division’s Cold Case Team reported the arrest of Rafael Quinones Rivera on March 21, 2014 for an Attempted First Degree Murder warrant obtained by County Police District I Detectives.

According to the warrant, in May 2004, Rivera severely assaulted two men with a broken beer bottle after a verbal dispute in the 1800 block of Greenwich Woods Drive in Silver Spring, MD. The warrant further states Rivera fled on foot prior to the police department’s arrival. 

Records indicated that Rivera was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) in 2009 and may have been deported, however in consultation with County Police on the original case file, the Cold Case team matched information for Rafael Rivera with Rafael Quinones, the name the suspect was using in North Carolina.

On March 21, 2014, members of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force observed Rivera exiting a residence in the 900 block of Gold Floss Street in Winston-Salem, NC. When Rivera spotted the Marshals he retreated back into the residence. After several attempts to get Rivera from the residence he was found hiding in the attic of the home where he utilized a hidden compartment built within a closet.

“Our team learned that Rivera was using the name Quinones. Since the name on the warrant was Rivera, the Winston- Salem PD would not have found him in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database to notify us,” said Captain William Mints, Assistant Bureau Chief of Field Operations. “But, digging through the records and making the right connections led us to this arrest.”

Rivera was taken into custody and transported to the Forsyth County Detention Center where he awaits extradition to Prince George’s County, MD. He is also charged with Attempted Second Degree Murder, First Degree Assault, two counts of Second Degree Assault and Malicious Destruction of Property.

For more information contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-7354.

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