Fugitive Caught After 20 Years Pleads Guilty to Failing to Appear in Court

BOSTON – A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with failing to appear in court for a sentencing hearing in 1997.

Luis Alberto Solano-Pimentel, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to appear. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf scheduled sentencing for Aug. 8, 2018. Solano- Pimentel was arrested on March 6, 2018, in Rhode Island after eluding law enforcement for 20 years. He has been detained since his arrest.  

In 1997, Solano- Pimentel pleaded guilty to passport fraud in federal court in Boston, but failed to appear on his scheduled sentencing date. Solano- Pimentel remained a fugitive until he was arrested in Warwick, R.I.

The charge of failure to appear provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised released, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; and Jamie A. Hainsworth, United State Marshal for the District of Rhode Island, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.