2 men arrested for posing as US Marshals, holding victims at gunpoint in Alabama during home invasion

The US Marshals Service announced Tuesday that Zealand Adams, 41, and Ramiro Vasquez, 39, were arrested simultaneously in Washington and California after investigators tracked the pair across the country.

According to authorities, Adams and Vasquez allegedly entered a residence in Alabama while posing as law enforcement officers, held the occupants at gunpoint and stole valuables.

Both men were wanted by the Auburn Police Department in Lee County, Alabama, on multiple counts of robbery, burglary, unlawful imprisonment, and impersonating a peace officer.

Auburn police requested assistance from the US Marshals-led Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, which determined that the suspects had fled Alabama following the alleged home invasion.

Investigators tracked Adams to Kent, while Vasquez was located in Chico, California. The Gulf Coast task force then sent leads to the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force and Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Federal and local officers coordinated a simultaneous operation Monday, taking both men into custody without incident.

Adams has a violent criminal history that includes a kidnapping conviction stemming from a dramatic hostage standoff more than a decade ago. In 2014, Adams held a 2-year-old child hostage during a five-hour standoff with police in Utah after leading officers on a high-speed chase, according to the Marshals Service. At the time, Adams was also wanted in connection with a murder in Louisiana. He was later convicted of kidnapping in Utah and manslaughter in Louisiana.

“Impersonating law enforcement undermines public trust and threatens community safety,” Acting US Marshal Donrien Stephens for the Western District of Washington said in a statement. “Our local and federal partners demonstrated exceptional teamwork, helping bring these dangerous offenders to swift justice.”

Adams and Vasquez were booked into local jails following their arrests and are awaiting extradition to Alabama to face the charges against them.