Fugitive Who Escaped From NJ State Prison 23 Years Ago Captured

A South Jersey man who’s been on the run for over 20 years has been captured in Orlando, Florida. Enrique Silva, 74, of Camden, was captured in Florida on March 8, 23 years after escaping from state prison, the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) announced.

He escaped from Riverfront State Prison in May of 1995 when he ran away from a work detail, according to the DOC. He had been incarcerated for possession and distribution of narcotics in Camden County in the late 1980s. He had been serving the sixth year of an 8 to 20 year sentence.

“Since Silva’s escape in 1995, investigators for the New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division Fugitive Unit aggressively pursued his whereabouts, conducting numerous interviews and exhausting various leads,” the DOC said.

In 2003, the Special Investigations Division Fugitive Unit joined and became a vital member of the United States Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to the DOC. The task force established by Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice to track down and apprehend the ‘worst of the worst’ state and local fugitives.

The Unit’s investigators teamed up with Federal Marshals and other task force officers who immediately continued this priority endeavor to catch Silva. They said it all paid off in late February when they unearthed a potential address in Florida. Investigators found a potential female acquaintance living in Orlando, and they notified the U.S. Marshals Service’s Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force in Florida, the DOC said.

The Unit investigators and a Federal Marshal from the New Jersey task force flew down to Orlando to join other Federal Marshals and task force officers from Florida in a stakeout of the home. During the surveillance, investigators saw a grey bearded man fitting Silva’s description walking in and out of the home.

At 10 a.m. on March 8, investigators raided the home. Silva attempted to run out the back door, but was met by additional law enforcement, according to the DOC. Silva was transported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for processing and will remain in the Sheriff’s custody pending extradition back to New Jersey.

The attached image of Enrique Silva was posted on the New Jersey Department of Corrections website.