A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her father in front of their children is believed to have fled to Georgia.
Amos Jacob Arroyo, 32, has been on the run since July 2017, U.S. marshals said Thursday morning.
Around 6:15 pm on July 30, 2017, Newport News, Va., police responded to reports of a shooting. Patricia Joseph and her father Jessie Barnes were killed as a result of the shooting. Joseph is Arroyo’s ex-girlfriend and is the mother of their two children who were present in the trailer at the time of the murders.
Police identified Arroyo as the suspect. The following day, arrest warrants were issued charging Arroyo with two counts of first degree murder and related charges. U.S. marshals were then asked for assistance in tracking Arroyo down.
Marshals began looking for Arroyo and located his vehicle Aug. 1 abandoned in a Walmart parking lot off I-95 in Pooler, Ga. Camera footage shows Arroyo in the Walmart on the morning of July 31, the day after the murders, purchasing a backpack, underwear, socks, a hooded sweatshirt, pants, and tee shirts.
After checking out, Arroyo walked out of the Walmart and left his vehicle behind. This is the last confirmed sighting of Arroyo.
“He hit the ground running,” said Bobby Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“The morning after the murders he was already 500 miles away,” Mathieson said. “By the time we found his vehicle in Georgia, we were a day behind him. Not only did he leave his car behind, we believe he left his old identity behind as well.”
Identification cards belonging to Arroyo were found in his abandoned vehicle, and investigators believe he is now using a fake name.
Arroyo was born in Bronx, NY, and grew up in West Covina, Ca., and has strong ties all over California, including Azusa, Ca. He also has known ties in Coral Springs, Fla.; Georgia; Newark, Del.; New York; Norfolk, Va.; Puerto Rico and Texas.
Arroyo speaks Spanish and has previously traveled to Mexico. He is known to have dated older men and women in the past, and is alleged to have used them for money. Arroyo spent four months in the Army in 2004.
