SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An elusive “Cocaine Cowboy” was apprehended in South Florida after spending four years on the run.
U.S. marshals arrested Mario Gonzalez in the Redland neighborhood of Southwest Miami-Dade, near Southwest 199th Avenue and 228th Street, Friday night.
Armored vehicles, two helicopters, and over 40 officers from different law enforcement agencies were needed to track him down and take him into custody.
Police said Gonzalez had been on the run for various crimes since 2014 after serving time on drug charges.
When marshals approached his home, authorities said, he jumped on an all-terrain vehicle and took off but later crashed into a fence.
Officials said Gonzalez hid in some bushes before he was bitten by a K9. He had a bag with a semi-automatic gun and some money in his possession.
Marshals say he took off on an ATV when they tried to arrest him. Crashed into a fence and hid in bushes until K9 got him. https://t.co/RYlDBUDGGb
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) January 13, 2018
“This guy was a very dangerous guy. He was one of the original ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ and did jail time before,” said U.S. Marshal Assistant Chief Manny Puri. “He eluded us before, in a car chase, going 120 miles an hour, and he was prepared, but we were more prepared this time.”
The men and women who made up the group that police dubbed the “Cocaine Cowboys” spent most of the 1970s and 80s smuggling tons of cocaine from Colombia to Miami on behalf of the Medellin and Cali cartels.
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