A suspect wanted in connection with a sexual assault that occurred in April 2025 has been apprehended at the international border, following a months-long investigation by Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office detectives and federal partners.
In April 2025, Mayer area deputies responded to a report of a sexual assault at a gas station in Cordes Junction. The adult female victim was in the shower stalls when a male suspect entered the stall she was occupying. The suspect forcefully pinned the victim against the wall, preventing her escape, and sexually assaulted her. The victim eventually managed to break free and immediately reported the incident to law enforcement.
Following an extensive investigation to identify the suspect, detectives determined that he was Ramses Cortes-Cordova, a Mexican citizen. During the investigation, detectives noted that Cortes-Cordova had frequently crossed the border before the assault. Working closely with the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office (YCAO), YCSO secured a full extradition warrant for the suspect.
On Monday, December 8, 2025, Cortes-Cordova attempted to cross the border into Arizona at a checkpoint. He was immediately flagged and apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“This is a criminal alien who came into this country, allegedly committed this heinous crime and fled back to Mexico, thinking he could escape justice here. Fortunately, our team never stopped working to identify him and ensure he would answer for his crime and bring justice for his victims,” Sheriff Rhodes said.
HSI agents have expressed their gratitude for the investigative work that flagged the offender, ensuring he was stopped before re-entering the community.
𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲
This arrest is at least the 5th significant arrest in recent weeks where YCSO deputies have apprehended subjects who are in the country illegally or coming across the border and commit serious crimes involving victims in our county.
In addition to the Cordes Junction case, YCSO has recently arrested:
𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐄𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 – 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞:
Two suspects were arrested following a November 23rd ambush shooting on YCSO deputies and Prescott Valley Police officers. The suspects have been charged with 5 counts of attempted First-Degree Homicide on Law Enforcement; one of the suspects is a 17-year-old male, who is being charged as an adult, Roberto Carreno-Beltran, found to be in the country illegally, and currently has a DHS Immigration Detainer placed on him.
𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭:
In late October, Jesus Beltran Vasquez allegedly kidnapped a female from her home, drove her to his residence, and sexually assaulted her. Vasquez is a criminal illegal alien and currently has a DHS Immigration Detainer placed on him.
𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟕 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐈-𝟏𝟕:
Early November, Deputies stopped a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 17 after observing a civil violation. During the stop, a K9 deployment resulted in a positive alert, leading to the discovery of 7 pounds of fentanyl pills and drug paraphernalia. Montoya Rodriguez was arrested and charged with possession and transportation of narcotic drugs for sale. It was determined that Rodriguez is in the country illegally and currently has a DHS Immigration Detainer on him.
𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟕𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐥 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞:
On November 19, 2025, the YCSO Special Crimes Unit (SCU) arrested Jose Urquianeriz during a traffic stop on I-17 near Middle Verde Rd. He was charged with Child Abuse and multiple drug felonies. Urquianeriz was sentenced, is in the country illegally and currently has a DHS Immigration Detainer on him.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the 287(g)-program jail model, a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allows the quick identification of illegal aliens charged with state crimes at the time of their arrest, and detainers to be placed for removal from America.
“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒊 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒇’𝒔 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒀𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒊 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒀𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒊 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆,” 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒇 𝑹𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒔
4 thoughts on “Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Issues an Update to the Public About Recent Arrests of Criminal Aliens”
It’s a shame, I’ve lived here in Prescott Valley for 35 years and the last 5 have shown a dramatic increase in crime, I’m sure the people moving up here saying they left a crime ridden neighborhood only to bring their young adult kids that caused the crime in the first place.
I agree with Chris, Prescott use to be a nice safe place to live but with all of the people moving here from the Democratic state of California, they bring with them not only their kids but their thinking. I think it’s time for Prescott to close its borders!!!
I second that J. W.
I have the perfect solution to Prescott changing so much. Don’t allow anymore people to move in. To do this all we need is a law where for every one person who moves out, one person can move in. But instead we have hundreds and hundreds of new homes being built all over our what once was beautiful landscaping and hotel after hotel being build bringing even more people to Prescott. I am afraid that the good old days have come and gone and are behind up forever, there is no turning back now!
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