PHOENIX — A violent Arizona fugitive who sparked a multistate manhunt after fleeing the state in March has been captured in rural Texas, authorities announced Tuesday.
Alex Bangash, 23, was awaiting trial for multiple violent crimes, including seven counts of sexual assault, when he removed his court-ordered ankle monitor and disappeared on March 10, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Investigators tracked him across New Mexico and into Texas, where he was eventually found working as a farmhand in exchange for room and board. He was arrested last Thursday and will be extradited to Arizona to face prosecution.
“Alex Bangash thought he could hide from the consequences of his actions,” said U.S. Marshal Van Bayless. “But with the cooperation of local and federal agencies, he was found and brought to account.”
Tempe police originally arrested Bangash in September 2023 for crimes dating back to 2018. One of the five alleged victims was a minor at the time of the offense. Although he was initially held without bail, Bangash was later released on a $250,000 cash-only bond under the condition he wear an ankle monitor — which he cut off weeks before vanishing.
“This arrest brings us one step closer to justice for the survivors,” said Tempe Police Chief Ken McCoy.
