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Bronx Fugitive Caught After Fleeing to Mexico Returns to Serve 10 Years

By Eddie Small | July 25, 2016 5:33pm
 Ronald DeJesus Plaza has been caught after seven months on the run.
Ronald DeJesus Plaza
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THE BRONX — A fugitive who fled to Mexico after skipping his sentencing for assault has been caught and returned to New York to serve 10 years in prison.

Ronald DeJesus Plaza, 25, was accused of attacking a man leaving a nightclub on Aqueduct Avenue in Kingsbridge in June 2014, breaking his nose and slashing him multiple times while another man who has not been caught stabbed him in the back, according to the Bronx District Attorney's Office.

Plaza was released on bail and failed to show up in court on December 4, 2015, at which point a jury began deliberations in his case, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, the DA's office said.

Plaza was not shy about his absence from the court, as he taunted his prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Karl Miller that weekend by posting a photo of high-end rum to Instagram with the message "Salute Mr. Miller, this is a good rum."

He was found guilty of assault in absentia on December 7, 2015 following a two-week trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison on Jan. 10, although he was not caught until June 22, when U.S. Marshals apprehended him as he got off of a plane at LAX, according to the Bronx DA's Office.

Investigators from the Bronx DA's Office brought Plaza to New York on July 9, and he was arraigned Monday on a charge of jumping bail and had his sentence carried out.

Plaza is currently on Rikers Island and may now face even more years behind bars, the DA's office said.

He traveled to several locations while he was on the run, including Mexico, and maintained a luxurious lifestyle while doing so, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.

"He cavalierly posted photos of himself with champagne, a Glock pistol, and driving a Lamborghini. He had even taunted the prosecutor," she said in a statement. "But he could not escape justice, and now he will serve his sentence.”