Samuel Ramirez Jr. had barely made history before history caught up with him. The 33-year-old from Federal Way, Washington, was apprehended without incident on Tuesday, March 10, at 11:13 a.m. PT in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, only one hour and 13 minutes after being announced as the 538th addition to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. It is the fastest capture in the program's history.
CBS News reported that the previous record for shortest arrest time belonged to Billie Austin Bryant, arrested in 1969, two hours after being added to the list. That record stood for over half a century. Ramirez shattered it before lunchtime.
Ramirez was wanted for his alleged involvement in the murders of two women on May 21, 2023, at a bar in Federal Way, Washington. A third person was also injured in the incident.
Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang identified the victims as Jessyca Hohn and Katie Duhnke. Two women went to a bar and never came home. Their killer spent nearly three years living freely across the border.
Ramirez was wanted for his alleged involvement in the murders of two female victims on May 21, 2023, at the Stars Bar and Grill in Federal Way, Washington. A third person was also injured in the shooting.
On May 24, 2023, the King County Superior Court issued an arrest warrant for Ramirez after he was charged with Murder in the First Degree, Murder in the Second Degree, and Attempted Murder in the First Degree.
After the homicide, Ramirez was believed to have fled the state and country. He did not flee into legal ambiguity. He fled into Mexico, where he remained hidden for nearly three years while two families buried their daughters and waited for the system to find him.
On November 14, 2025, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Ramirez in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington after he was charged with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. On December 10, 2025, the FBI announced a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
That initial reward wasn't enough. So the FBI raised the stakes dramatically. The FBI increased the reward to up to $1 million on Tuesday and added him to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list that same day.
Ramirez became the first fugitive to fall under a new standard reward tier, with the FBI increasing the offer to $1 million, a massive jump from the previous $250,000 standard.
The result was immediate. W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle Field Office, explained: "This capture shows the power of local, federal, and international law enforcement working together, armed with timely and actionable information from the public. Assistance from the public quickly helped us learn where Mr. Ramirez was hiding and successfully bring him back to King County to face justice."
A million dollars focuses attention. Seventy-three minutes later, it was over.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi did not let the moment pass quietly. She drew the contrast directly:
"Unlike the prior Administration, this Department of Justice is arresting the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted criminals as quickly as they are added to the list."
Bondi added: "President Trump has unleashed American law enforcement against the worst criminals in our country — Director Patel is doing great work to Make America Safe Again."
FBI Director Kash Patel framed it in terms of the victims, not the optics:
"His senseless acts of violence placed him on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, and it is that same commitment to the victims that brought him to justice today. There is no border, no amount of time, and no place to hide from the full force of the FBI and its partners."
That last line is not a slogan. It is a demonstrated fact.
In a statement, Mexico's government confirmed the details of Ramirez's arrest and reaffirmed its "commitment to work in a coordinated manner with international authorities to detain individuals wanted in other countries." Ramirez was deported from Mexico to the U.S. and returned to Washington on Wednesday night.
This is the second high-profile fugitive Mexico has handed over in short order. Ramirez's capture comes just weeks after former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who was also on the FBI's most wanted list, was arrested in Mexico.
Wedding, who was on the run for over a year, pleaded not guilty in January to 17 felony charges alleging that he operated a Mexican drug cartel.
Back-to-back captures on Mexican soil are not a coincidence. They reflect a changed diplomatic and enforcement environment, one where the cost of harboring American fugitives has risen sharply.
Mexico is cooperating. Criminals who counted on the border as a permanent shield are finding it is not.
Ramirez will be booked into jail in King County, Washington, and will next appear in court for his arraignment in about two weeks.
Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang, whose department has carried this case since the night of the murders, put it plainly:
"This arrest is an important step toward justice for the victims, Jessyca Hohn and Katie Duhnke, and toward bringing some measure of closure to their families and our community. We remain committed to ensuring that the suspect is held fully accountable."
Jessyca Hohn and Katie Duhnke were killed at a bar in 2023. The man accused of executing them spent nearly three years untouchable across the border while their families endured every day without answers. He was listed on Tuesday morning. He was in custody before noon.
That is what law enforcement looks like when it is given the tools, the mandate, and the will to finish the job.
