WA double-murder suspect was one of FBI’s most wanted … for just over an hour
A 33-year-old man charged with killing two bartenders in Federal Way was apprehended in Mexico roughly an hour after being placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the FBI Seattle field office announced Thursday.
Samuel Ramirez Jr. allegedly shot Katie Duhnke, 37, and Jessyca Hohn outside their workplace, the Stars Bar and Grill, in May 2023 and injured a patron. Hohn, 36, graduated from Spanaway Lake High School, the Seattle Times previously reported.
Ramirez, who was believed to have fled to Mexico following the killings and had eluded law enforcement, was added Tuesday to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was apprehended the same day at 11:13 a.m. Pacific in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico – one hour , 13 minutes after it was announced he was put on the fugitives list, the FBI said Thursday.
“This capture shows the power of local, federal, and international law enforcement working together, armed with timely and actionable information from the public,” W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said in a statement. “Assistance from the public quickly helped us learn where Mr. Ramirez was hiding and successfully bring him back to King County to face justice.”
Ramirez, who’s a U.S. citizen, returned to Washington state on Wednesday night and is expected to be arraigned on murder and attempted murder charges approximately two weeks after he’s booked into jail in King County, according to the FBI. He has also been charged in federal court with fleeing to avoid prosecution.
His apprehension made him the quickest-captured person ever on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was created in 1950, the FBI said. The prior record for shortest arrest time occurred in 1969, when convicted bank robber Billie Austin Bryant was apprehended two hours after being added to the list for killing two FBI agents.
FBI Seattle credited the FBI office in Mexico City, Mexican authorities and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington for coordinating Ramirez’s apprehension.
The FBI, which had offered up to $1 million for information leading to Ramirez’s arrest, didn’t provide specifics about how he was found. Ramirez was the 12th FBI Seattle case ever added to the most-wanted list, which has included 538 total fugitives since its inception.
“This arrest is an important step toward justice for the victims, Jessyca Hohn and Katie Duhnke, and toward bringing some measure of closure to their families and our community,” Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang said in a statement.