Murder suspect nabbed in Basalt

BASALT, Colorado ” An Oklahoma man wanted on a charge of first-degree murder in Tulsa was arrested by Basalt police Wednesday night.

John Richard Beato, 22, was booked into the Eagle County jail after 7 p.m., after Basalt Patrol Sgt. Stu Curry arrested him in Basalt as he was returning home from work.

No bond was set, and Tulsa officials were expected to arrive in Eagle on Thursday to begin deportation procedures for Beato, Curry said.

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Beato had worked for Basalt-based JC Electric and was returning from a work site in Snowmass Village when Curry pulled him over near Park Avenue Apartments, where Beato has lived, Curry said.

“There was no resistance at all,” Curry said. “He was compliant with my commands.”

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But the suspect was caught off guard, Curry said, noting that Beato was riding in a JC Electric truck that had two other passengers.

“I saw him get out of the truck and recognized him,” Curry said. “I told the other two guys to get back in the truck. He was really confused and didn’t know what was going on.”

Beato allegedly told Curry he has lived in the Basalt area for more than a year, including Missouri Heights for a period of time.

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In June, prosecutors in Tulsa County, Okla., filed a first-degree murder charge against Beato, who had been living in Broken Arrow, Okla., when he was accused of strangling a man to death, according to the Tulsa World newspaper.

Prosecutors believe the killing took place some time between Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, 2007.

The victim, 25-year-old Antonio Flores, was found dead in his mobile home days after the killing, the Tulsa World reported.

Curry said that when he arrived to work Wednesday, he was contacted by an official from the U.S. Marshal’s Service, who said they had information Beato was living in the Basalt area.

rcarroll@aspentimes.com