Fugitive Captured After 42 Years Is Now In Custody At Westchester Jail

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A fugitive who left the country to escape a prison sentence, made the mistake of coming back to the U.S.

The Westchester County Police Department said that a convicted robber who fled to his native Nicaragua over four decades ago has been brought back to Westchester County to face the prison sentence he ran from in 1982. He had been a fugitive from justice all this time until he was arrested in Florida earlier this year.

Noel Hernandez, currently 64 years old, was charged with first degree robbery by the Yonkers Police Department in January 1981. After being convicted at trial, he fled before his sentencing in June 1982. Hernandez was sentenced in absentia to 6.5 to 20 years in prison.

An initial investigation determined that he most likely returned to his native Nicaragua, and a bail-jumping indictment was filed by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. The case was never closed, but it went cold.

Earlier this year, on February 20, WCPD's Warrant-Fugitive Unit was contacted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm that the warrant for Hernandez was still active. According to Homeland Security, he had re-entered the country in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2022. Hernandez listed his residence as Nicaragua and his intended destination as Miami. He was initially detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but then released due to overcrowding in the federal Bureau of Prisons holding facility.

After a follow-up investigation by Warrant-Fugitive Unit detectives and federal authorities, including the US Marshals Service, a possible address for Hernandez was obtained in the Miami area. A request for arrest was then made to the US Marshals Task Force in Miami. On July 9, members of the US Marshals Task Force arrested Hernandez at the Miami address.

Hernandez declined to sign a waiver of extradition and a Governor’s warrant application was prepared by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. After court proceedings in Florida, he was ordered to be returned to Westchester County.

Hernandez was picked up on Friday by members of the WCPD Warrant-Fugitive Unit, flown back to Westchester, and is currently in the Westchester County Jail.

"He should have stayed in the old country," WCPD said in a social media post.