Concord,
NH – The United States Marshals Service is very pleased to
announce the arrest of Mercer County, New Jersey fugitive, Kedin
Mejia-Ayala.
Kedin Mejia-Ayala, 33 years-of-age, was last known
to reside in Trenton, NJ was being sought on an arrest warrant issued by
the Trenton Municipal Court in Mercer County. This warrant alleges that
Mejia-Ayala committed the offenses of sexual assault on a victim under
the age of 13, aggravated sexual assault on a victim between the ages of
13 and 16 years of age, and endangering the welfare of a child.
This arrest warrant was issued on April 16, 2021, and the case was
referred to the U.S. Marshals, New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive
Task Force shortly after. Through an intensive investigation by the U.S.
Marshals Fugitive Task Force, information was recently developed
pointing investigators to the North Conway area of New Hampshire.
Today, members of the US Marshals, NH Joint Fugitive Task Force with
the assistance of the NH State Police and the Tamworth Police Department
were able to locate and arrest Mejia-Ayala at a residential work site on
Chocorua Road in Tamworth, NH. Although, Mejia-Ayala initially attempted
to flee and provided a false name of “Alejandro” to investigators, once
detained, he did state that he was Kedin Mejia-Ayala. Mr. Mejia-Ayala
was transported by the NH State Police to the Carroll County Jail in
Ossipee to be held as a fugitive from justice based on the outstanding
Mercer County, NJ warrant.
Mr. Mejia-Ayala will have his initial
court appearance in Ossipee District Court in the coming days and will
be held without bail pending his return to New Jersey to face these very
serious charges.
United States Marshal, Nick Willard said, “I am
extremely proud of the work that all of the investigators did on this
case.” Willard continued, “Offenses against our youth will not be
tolerated and we will always prioritize taking people like Mr.
Mejia-Ayala off the street so they can have their day in court.”
Since the inception of the U.S. Marshals – New Hampshire Joint Fugitive
Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 8,542
arrests (Updated as of 12/31/2021). These arrests have ranged in
seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation
and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally
the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out
with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive
task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of
offices in foreign countries.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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America’s
First Federal Law Enforcement Agency