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

WARWICK − The case of a former Massachusetts city councilor who was accused of fleeing the country to escape prosecution in Rhode Island has taken a wild turn amid media reports that he went to Russia and helped President 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 last week.

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

Blurry footage circulated on the internet that month by Russian pro-war channels showed a man in fatigues, planting a U.S. 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.

He confirmed the report in an interview.

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.

"That's Will," said Bartley who acknowledged that the situation is" shocking" and unexpected based on his own past experiences with the former councilor.

"No question," he said.

RI 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 councilor

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

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

At that point in 2020, Puello-Mota was a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

He had joined the Air Force in 2003 and had served in Afghanistan at one point.

In 2019, he had joined the Guard. He worked as a Security Forces airman with the 104th Fighter Wing.

The Warwick police investigation continued into September 2020, when 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.

Puello-Mota held the rank of technical sergeant when the charges against him ended his Guard service in 2022, according to a spokesman for the Guard, Donald Veitch, who called the charges "very serious" on Friday.

The defendant had been expected to plea in the cases on Jan. 5, according to a bail violation drafted by prosecutors.

He asked for an extension to Jan. 9, it says.

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."

John M. Cicilline is Puello-Mota's lawyer.

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