A man once convicted of murder and released on parole was tracked down and arrested after a dramatic multi-agency manhunt involving SWAT teams, high-tech surveillance, and a helicopter pursuit through Alaska’s rugged terrain.
A federal jury convicted George Moises Romero Jr., 37, on Wednesday of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a violent felon in possession of body armor.
Romero, a name long known to Alaska law enforcement, was originally sentenced to 24 years in prison after a 2006 conviction in Anchorage Superior Court for Second-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Robbery, and Third-Degree Assault.
Despite the gravity of his crimes, Romero was granted discretionary parole and released in 2019 — a decision now under renewed scrutiny.
But his freedom was short-lived. On June 4, 2024, a parole violation warrant was issued for his arrest. The Fairbanks Area Criminal Suppression Unit launched a manhunt to apprehend the convicted killer, knowing he posed a serious risk to public safety.
Law enforcement officials used real-time cell phone tracking to try to locate Romero, only for him to slip through their fingers at the last moment. As the SWAT team prepared to execute a search warrant at his suspected location, Romero vanished, fleeing surveillance and relocating to Alaska’s remote Goldstream Valley.
Undeterred, the Alaska State Troopers deployed a helicopter equipped with high-powered cameras on June 6, 2024. They located a vehicle associated with Romero and tracked its movements from the sky.
Then came the moment that played out like something from a Hollywood thriller: The helicopter team watched as Romero was dropped off at the edge of the woods, carrying camping equipment and preparing to disappear into the wilderness.
But the woods would not be his escape. Ground teams moved in, and Troopers intercepted Romero before he could vanish. He was wearing body armor and carrying two loaded firearms, with extra magazines and ammunition strapped to his person. A third firearm and more ammunition were found in a duffle bag he carried.
The case was a joint effort by the Alaska State Troopers, the Fairbanks Area Narcotics Team (FANT), the FBI Anchorage Field Office, the Fairbanks Resident Agency, and the ATF Anchorage Field Office.
Romero’s conviction followed a three-day federal trial in Fairbanks. Prosecutors Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek and Antitrust Division Trial Attorneys David Bernhardt and Lauren Weed led the case.
Now back in custody and facing a likely lengthy federal sentence, Romero’s case is prompting new conversations about parole and public safety in Alaska.
Why the hell was he granted parole!?!? Alaska’s soft-on-crime laws need to be changed. Get in a legislature that can and will do the job…get rid of the spineless idiots who just want to mismanage everything they touch. They have RUINED Alaska!
The Alaska State Troopers issue “dispatches” every day on their PIO page.
Go ahead and follow those for a while and with individuals who’ve been arrested for more serious things check out Courtview.
Generous plea agreements in Alaska are very very common.
Lazy District Attorneys and unethical judges are more the norm than the exception.
Trump is a convicted felon
And yet, he has access to nuclear weapons.
TDS is strong in you & that makes me smile!
Says Mr. Beria
……..and President of the United States. Unhappy with that? Elect George Romero as your next president.
You’d better start campaigning soon………..
I’m career LE. I have zero doubt that if I and a Federal agent followed You (or anyone else for that matter) around for a week we’d find several matters, either SOA or Federal, to indict you upon…and a favorable jury with the “correct” judge to convict.
It’s simply a matter of will.
Now, if we could just ignore the Statute of Limitations and indict on a redefined misdemeanor the way the State of New York has before, we probably wouldn’t even have to work very hard.
Hear, hear!
Well that’s not saying much other than you’re a typical “You’re guilty of “something” and it’s my job to find out what that is” LEO. Sickening. I could follow you around for a week as well and find violations daily. Try being an actual Peace Officer and actual public servant. Or just read “Three felonies a day” by Silverglate. Breaking the law is easy. As you so well suggest.
It would appear Leticia is guilty of similar frauds, she even stooped to listing she was married to her father receive as sweetheart loan as low rates.
Goes to show that our judges are a joke their J6 entitlement brah😜
So the feds had to clean up Alaska’s mess, once again proving Alaska’s judiciary is too corrupt and incompetent to get out of its own way?
“Despite the gravity of his crimes, Romero was granted discretionary parole and released in 2019 — a decision now under renewed scrutiny.”
I would definitely be interested in how this happened and who let it if we get more info. Thanks!
The reason for this scenario is totally dumb. He should have never been released. Check who is funding our current judges and representatives. Might surprise us all.
As per a recent article in MRA the Alaska Supreme Court has directed the Board of Parole not consider the severity of the initial crime.
I thought prisons were supposed to be for punishment?
Used to be the case. Now it’s about ‘corrections.’ Thus, Dept of Corrections.
One cold, one hot; one cell, one cot. One light, 60 deg F. Blanket. Better than most dogs receive.
A euphemism if I ever heard one. What’s being corrected?
“Romero was a dangerous felon who should never have had access to guns, let alone body armor,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman. “This arrest prevented a potentially deadly outcome.”
What a curious statement. Heyman should have said ‘should never have been paroled early’.
Alaska has a higher expectation of you than you have of yourself, Heyman. Try not to suck.
Ah, SB 91, the Trojan Horse gift that keeps on giving.