RI fugitive, Mass. councilman and child-porn suspect believe to have joined Russian military

WARWICK − The case of a former Massachusetts city councilor, who was accused of fleeing the U.S. to escape prosecution in Rhode Island, has taken a wild turn amid media reports that he went to Russia and helped Vladimir Putin's invading forces capture a key Ukrainian stronghold in eastern Ukraine.

The path of Wilmer Puello-Mota, a 28-year-old who had served in the U.S. Air Force, has been the focus of international news reports over the past week.

The Guardian reported that it appeared Puello-Mota fought as a volunteer alongside Russian troops during their capture of a Ukrainian town, Avdiivka, in February.

Blurry footage circulated on the internet that month by Russian pro-war channels showed a man in fatigues, planting a US flag in the city's ruins, says the April 5 report.

Associated Press follows defendant

On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported a similar scene.

The AP also quoted a former colleague, David K. Bartley, who was on the Holyoke City Council with Puello-Mota.

Bartley told the AP a person in another video from Russia, which is clearer and was posted more recently, looks and sounds like Puello-Mota.

Bartley didn't immediately respond to a voice message on Thursday.

The AP verified a particular Russian town as the location of the video that appears to show Puello-Mota entering a building, according to the AP report, which also says a plaque identifies the building as a military recruitment center under the Russian Defense Ministry.

The same report attributes some quotes to Puello-Mota: "Obviously it's a difficult situation. It's war. It's a special military operation."

"I definitely would do it again," is another quote.

R.I. Prosecutor refers to "purported" video of defendant

In Superior Court, Warwick, last month, Special Assistant Attorney General John C. Malloy, filed a motion that says prosecutors received photos and videos "purporting" to be the defendant in Russia and Ukraine.

Prosecutors could not verify that Puello-Mota is the man in the photos and videos, says Malloy's motion.

But if the imagery is accurate, it says, Puello-Mota is "well beyond the jurisdiction of this court."

"…if false," it says, "the defendant is engaged in an elaborate ruse to conceal his whereabouts."

Warwick police encounter Holyoke councilman

The origins of the case date back to May, 2020, when Puello-Mota called Warwick dispatchers, according to police reports.

Puello-Mota told the dispatchers that some people had barged into his room at the Radisson Hotel on Post Road and stolen a safe that contained his Beretta 9 mm pistol.

During their response to the hotel, Warwick police learned that Puello-Mota, a member of the U.S. Air Force, had been in the presence of a 17-year-old girl in the hotel room, according to police reports.

Teenage girl interested in a "Sugar daddy"

The teen told police she had met Puello-Mota on a website months before, and he had told her he was willing to be her "Sugar daddy," according to her hand-written statement.

She told police that Puello-Mota had offered her money for videos and pictures, the report says, adding that she mentioned that she and Puella-Mota had met twice on two other previous occasions.

She went on to tell police that on this visit, they had argued, police say. Her friends heard the argument and came into the room.

She also told police that Puello-Mota had offered her money in exchange for sexually explicit images, says the report.

Puello-Mota, it says, denied asking for or possessing such images.

He told police that the safe, which contained his wallet, the gun, ammunition and $1,000 in cash, was missing after the intrusion of the other young men.

An examination of Puello-Mota's phone found sexually explicit images of the girl in a trash folder, the report says.

John M. Cicilline is fugitive's lawyer

In September 2020, Puello-Mota was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.

In 2022, Puello-Mota was accused of obstruction of the judicial system as well as forgery and counterfeiting.

A bail violation drafted by prosecutors in January says Puello-Mota was expected to make a plea on Jan. 5. He asked Judge Luis Matos for an extension to Jan. 9.

On Jan. 7, he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight in Washington D.C. and flew to Istanbul.

"His whereabouts from that location are unknown," the violation says. "The defendant did not have permission from this court to travel."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mass. councilman and RI fugitive believed to have joined Russian troops