Police nab suspect in shooting Man wanted for Tamaqua incident in October

The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force lost a good man in Harrisburg on Thursday, but grief didn’t get in the way of continuing to do their job. Instead, agents converged on a house in Hazleton on Friday morning and arrested a man wanted for attempted murder.

Rafael “Flaco” Valdez-Torres, 26, has been on the run since he allegedly shot a man in Tamaqua during the early morning hours of Oct. 10, 2017. There were possible sightings of him in Tamaqua and Lansford over the ensuing months, but the tips never panned out.

Agents used every investigative tool at their disposal to finally track him down in Hazleton. He was turned over to Tamaqua Police and arraigned before District Magisterial Judge Stephen Bayer on felony charges of attempted murder in the first degree, inflicting serious bodily harm during a robbery, criminal attempt to commit robbery and aggravated assault, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited weapon and reckless endangerment.

It was at 2:07 a.m. that October day when police were called to Fegley’s Mini Mart for a gunshot victim. As they responded, the Schuylkill County Communications Center alerted then to a call from a resident of Rowe Street, who said shots had been fired.

The officer responding to Fegley’s found Joseph Becker, 35, of Summit Hill, in the back seat of a red Toyota Corolla, clutching his bloody chest. The officer who went to Rowe Street spoke to a woman who said she heard two gunshots in the 200 block, then saw a white man running west.

Becker told the officer he had been shot by “Flaco” before he was transported to St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale. He was stabilized, then airlifted to St. Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill, where he underwent surgery.

Tamaqua Cpl. Henry Woods spoke to Becker in St. Luke’s intensive care unit Becker said he went to a home at 249 W. Rowe St. where he was met by a man he knew as Flaco. Becker admitted giving methamphetamine to Flaco, who was later positively identified as Valdez-Torres. After taking the drug, Flaco pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at Becker and told him, “Montro wants me to kill you.” Becker said he owed Montro, also known as Manny, $300 for drugs.

Flaco then wanted the wad of cash that Becker had in his pocket. When Becker refused, he was shot once in the chest. As he fled, he heard another shot and felt a bullet go by him. Friends drove him to Fegley’s to get help.

During an interview with Cpl. Woods on Friday morning, Valdez-Torres admitted shooting Becker, saying it was over drug money.

Judge Bayer set a preliminary hearing for 1 p.m. on Feb. 20. Bail on murder charges may only be set by the Court of Common Pleas, so Valdez-Torres was transported to the Schuylkill County Prison in Pottsville.