Tucson, AZ - On July 15, 2021, the U.S. Marshals Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force located and apprehended a child sexual predator. Isaac Martinez-Celaya, a 35 year old male, was wanted by the Tucson Police Department for failing to appear for a court hearing after being charged in the Pima County Superior Court with 13 counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor under 15 years of age. Martinez-Celaya is said to have multiple child victims over the course of several years. Tucson Police requested U.S. Marshals assistance July 8, 2021 in locating and apprehending Martinez-Celaya.
“The federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have a shared commitment in protecting children. Sexual abuse of children is often called the “silent crime", and we want to give those victims a loud voice". Said United States Marshal David Gonzales.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, July 15, 2021, U.S. Marshals Task Force members established surveillance of a residence they believed Martinez-Celaya was living. After several hours of surveillance at a residence on Tucson’s South Side, Martinez-Celaya was seen getting into a car and leaving the area. A mobile surveillance of the vehicle was conducted when the vehicle was seen entering Mister Car Wash at Irvington and Midvale Park in Tucson. When the vehicle entered the car wash, Martinez-Celaya left the vehicle and ran into a nearby neighborhood.
Task Force members immediately began an extensive search in the surrounding neighborhood and were able to narrow down a location utilizing security cameras from neighboring homes and from witnesses within the community. Personnel immediately surrounded the area and began to develop a plan.
At approximately 5:00 pm, U.S. Marshals personnel along with Task Force partners observed Martinez-Celaya run out the back door of a residence and jump into the neighbor’s yard. Officers from Arizona Department of Public Safety and Tucson Police Officers responded to assist in the search and help secure the surrounding homes. Officers were able to force Martinez-Celaya out of hiding in a nearby backyard and gave chase as he ran out on foot trying to evade arrest. Martinez-Celaya was apprehended by U.S. Marshals personnel after a short foot chase without any further incident.
Martinez-Celaya was transported to the Pima County Adult Detention Center and was booked on his outstanding warrant. Further investigation is being conducted on possible additional charges.
The Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force is a U.S. Marshals Service led multi-jurisdictional fugitive apprehension unit responsible for more than 1748 arrests in the last year. The task force is comprised of 22 agencies bringing together the resources of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the community’s most violent offenders and sexual predators.
