FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A fugitive who has been on the run for a decade is back in South Florida after being captured in Panama.
Samuel Silva arrived at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport about 3 p.m. Monday, escorted by U.S. marshals who had traveled to Panama, where he was detained last week.
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U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said Silva had been at large since June 2004, when he failed to surrender for his DUI conviction stemming from a 1998 crash that seriously injured a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
Silva was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison in 2001, but he was released on bond pending an appeal. In 2004, Silva's appeal was denied and he was ordered to surrender. When he failed to do so, a judge issued a warrant for Silva's arrest.
Golden said Silva has lived in Spain, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico before settling in Panama in 2011.
U.S. marshals learned that in 2005, Silva obtained a fraudulent passport in a relative's name while hiding out in Puerto Rico. It was that phony passport that ultimately led them to Panama.
"It doesn't matter how far you travel. It doesn't matter where you go," Golden said. "You can run. You can hide in a different country. The Marshals Service does not quit."
Silva was transported to a Miami-Dade County jail.