A man wanted in connection with a Moriarty-area murder earlier in the month has been arrested.
Steven Banda, 48, was picked up Sept. 21 by the U.S. Marshals Service District of New Mexico – Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team without incident in northwest Albuquerque “following an exhaustive investigation by multiple local, state and federal agencies,” according to a Marshals Service news release.
Banda was wanted in connection with the stabbing death of Karl Fitzsimmons outside of a camper trailer just outside of Moriarty on September 3.
He has been on the run before being tracked down.
“This arrest is a prime example of how the U.S. Marshals Service task forces, comprising local, state and federal agencies, can work to make a difference, not only in the Albuquerque Metro area, but throughout the state of New Mexico,” said Vincent Gambone, task force commander for the multi-unit group that included officers from the Torrance and Bernalillo counting sheriff’s offices, the New Mexico State Police, Albuquerque Police Department, and the Marshals Service.
“If someone commits a violent crime in our jurisdiction, our task force, to include the entirety of the U.S. Marshals Service, will explore all leads and turn every stone to find them,” Gambone said.
Banda was booked into the Torrance County Detention Facility.