Tucson, AZ – On July 15, 2021, the U.S. Marshals Arizona WANTED
Violent Offender Task Force located and apprehended a child sexual
predator. Isaac Martinez-Celaya, a 35 year old male, was wanted by the
Tucson Police Department for failing to appear for a court hearing after
being charged in the Pima County Superior Court with 13 counts of Sexual
Conduct with a Minor under 15 years of age. Martinez-Celaya is said to
have multiple child victims over the course of several years. Tucson
Police requested U.S. Marshals assistance July 8, 2021 in locating and
apprehending Martinez-Celaya.
“The federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies have a shared commitment in protecting children. Sexual abuse
of children is often called the “silent crime”, and we want to give
those victims a loud voice”. Said United States Marshal David Gonzales.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, July 15,
2021, U.S. Marshals Task Force members established surveillance of a
residence they believed Martinez-Celaya was living. After several hours
of surveillance at a residence on Tucson’s South Side, Martinez-Celaya
was seen getting into a car and leaving the area. A mobile surveillance
of the vehicle was conducted when the vehicle was seen entering Mister
Car Wash at Irvington and Midvale Park in Tucson. When the vehicle
entered the car wash, Martinez-Celaya left the vehicle and ran into a
nearby neighborhood.
Task Force members immediately began an extensive
search in the surrounding neighborhood and were able to narrow down a
location utilizing security cameras from neighboring homes and from
witnesses within the community. Personnel immediately surrounded the
area and began to develop a plan.
At approximately 5:00 pm, U.S.
Marshals personnel along with Task Force partners observed
Martinez-Celaya run out the back door of a residence and jump into the
neighbor’s yard. Officers from Arizona Department of Public Safety and
Tucson Police Officers responded to assist in the search and help secure
the surrounding homes. Officers were able to force Martinez-Celaya out
of hiding in a nearby backyard and gave chase as he ran out on foot
trying to evade arrest. Martinez-Celaya was apprehended by U.S. Marshals
personnel after a short foot chase without any further incident.
Martinez-Celaya was transported to the Pima
County Adult Detention Center and was booked on his outstanding warrant.
Further investigation is being conducted on possible additional charges.
The Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force is
a U.S. Marshals Service led multi-jurisdictional fugitive apprehension
unit responsible for more than 1748 arrests in the last year. The task
force is comprised of 22 agencies bringing together the resources of
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest
the community’s most violent offenders and sexual predators.
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