Nationally featured fugitive in local jail

A murder suspect whose case is set for trial Nov. 3 is housed in a maximum-security cell in the Roosevelt County Detention Center, according to RCDC records.

Jorge Rico-Ruvira, 35, of Roswell, is accused of first-degree murder in the Jan. 7, 2020 slaying of Isela Mauricio-Sanchez, 27, in Roswell. He was transferred to the Roosevelt County Detention Center on May 12.

Roosevelt County officials declined to state why Rico-Ruvira was sent to the Roosevelt County facility, and attempts to reach the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s office were not answered on Thursday.

Rico-Ruvira fled to Mexico with his three-year-old son, Osiel Mauricio, after Mauricio-Sanchez’s slaying, and he was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on March 8, when Roswell Police arrested him, court records show. The three=year old son was placed with family in Roswell, records show.

Rico-Ruvira’s trial is set for Nov. 3 in Fifth Judicial District Court, Judge Thomas Lilley presiding, court documents show.

While he was a fugitive, Rico-Ruvira’s case was featured on the “In Pursuit with John Walsh” television program.