The Durham County Sheriff’s Office announced on April 20 that Carlos Anuel Medina Robles was arrested in Ward, North Dakota and returned to the Durham County Detention Center to face first-degree murder charges. The arrest followed coordinated investigative efforts by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The case concerns the November 2025 shooting death of 28-year-old Luis Alberto Flores along the 6100 block of Guess Road. Medina Robles was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges and is being held without bond. According to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, “the wanted subject was taken into custody without incident.” The office released an update detailing the outcome of the investigation and noted that federal and local agencies worked together to identify Medina Robles’ whereabouts out of state leading to his arrest according to its official website.
Local law enforcement data showed a 26 percent decrease in the top eight crimes during the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. The sheriff’s office said it continues to focus resources on solving violent incidents through targeted investigations that bring suspects into custody. Local clearance efforts for serious cases have supported broader safety gains across the county according to office data.
The U.S. Marshals Service reported arresting over 73,000 fugitives nationwide in 2025, including thousands wanted on state and local warrants for violent offenses. This total included more than 28,000 individuals facing federal warrants and nearly 45,000 facing state and local warrants, demonstrating the scale of interagency fugitive operations. Such partnerships help return suspects to jurisdictions for prosecution according to a press release.
Sheriff Clarence Birkhead has more than four decades of law enforcement experience. Birkhead began his career as a deputy sheriff in Randolph County in 1984 before moving to Durham where he served in Duke University Public Safety Department rising to chief of police in 1998. He later held leadership roles in university safety before being elected sheriff of Durham County according to his biography.
