Massachusetts

Man Wanted in 1990 Lowell Killing Is Arrested in Dominican Republic

Jose Armanda Betances' "life on the run for almost 30 years has ended with him in handcuffs," said the top FBI agent in Boston

A man wanted on murder charges in Massachusetts was arrested nearly 30 years later in the Dominican Republic and will be arraigned Monday in Woburn, according to the FBI.

Jose Armanda Betances has been turned over to the agency in the fatal shooting of a teenager in Lowell on May 12, 1990, FBI's Boston Division said Friday, ahead of Betances' expected arrival at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Betances shot Andrew Alexander, 17, between the eyes with a revolver, the FBI said. Alexander had thrown a rock through the window of a car that he was driving, with his ex-girlfriend inside, police told The Boston Globe at the time.

He has been wanted since the day after the shooting and was indicted on murder charges a month later by a Middlesex County grand jury. A federal arrest warrant was issued in August 1990 on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

But the search for Betances only grew warmer in the last three years, according to the FBI.

Investigators located the 58-year-old in the Dominican Republic in 2017, the FBI said. He was arrested outside his residence this November and held in custody pending his extradition to Massachusetts.

Betances is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Woburn Superior Court.

“Mr. Betances’ life on the run for almost 30 years has ended with him in handcuffs, and we can only hope this arrest brings some level of closure to Mr. Alexander’s family,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, in a statement.

It’s unclear whether Betances is represented by an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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