Crime & Safety

Reputed Gang Member Deported for Sex Crimes Arrested in Chesco

A police detective spotted Bolivar Barrios, who'd been deported in 2012, in a local Walmart.

An undocumented immigrant who'd previously been deported from the United States for sex crimes he committed in Chester County was arrested again after an alert police detective spotted the reputed gang member in a local Walmart. 

Bolivar Barrios, 25, faces state and federal charges following his arrest Sept. 25. 

Barrios is a known member of the Sureños 13 street gang, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office, which announced his arrest Monday. 

Authorities gave the following account of Barrios' most recent arrest:

On Aug. 25, Chester County Det. Joseph Nangle, while off duty, was walking through a Walmart in Lower Oxford Township when he spotted Barrios in the store. Nangle recognized Barrios because the detective had previously been a police officer in New Garden Township and had crossed paths with Barrios, authorities said. 

Because there were children and other civilians in the store, Nangle decided not to arrest Barrios on the spot, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. 

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Instead, Chester County detectives and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began an investigation to catch Barrios. He was arrested after authorities found him and confirmed he was again in the country illegally, as a deported felon and a Megan's Law offender. 

Following his most recent arrest, Barrios was held in Chester County Prison, where he also faces a federal detainer.

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He is charged with violating Megan's Law in Pennsylvania, and also faces a federal charge of aggravated felon re-entry. If convicted of the Megan's Law violation, Barrios faces a mandatory minimum of three years in state prison, followed by time in federal prison and eventual deportation to Mexico. 

It was unclear Monday how Barrios, who previously lived in Southern Chester County, was able to return to the United States after being deported last year. 

In 2005, Barrios was convicted in Chester County of rape, kidnapping, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. After serving a state prison sentence, he was paroled in 2012 and then deported to Mexico as a convicted felon and undocumented immigrant, authorities said.

“Chester County detectives never forget a face," Hogan said. "Detective Joe Nangle and federal authorities did an outstanding job to get this dangerous criminal off our streets and out of this country.”

Pennsylvania State Police assisted Chester County Detectives and the Department of Homeland Security in the investigation.


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