A man accused of taking part in a double murder in Sioux Falls earlier this month has been arrested in northeast Nebraska. Manuel Frias is subject of a one-million dollar search warrant on two counts of First-Degree Murder. Gary Bunt with the U-S Marshal’s Service says police received tips that Frias was a couple of hours down the road from Sioux Falls.
Bunt says, “The Sioux Falls Area Fugitive Task Force, which is comprised of the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office and the Sioux Falls Police Department are the ones who developed the information that Frias was likely hiding out at a residence in Sioux City. So, we contacted the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force, which is led by the U-S Marshals and the Sioux City Police Department down there. And they, in turn, acted on the information that we gave them and set up on the residence and eventually brought this fugitive manhunt to an end.”
Bunt says Frias initially refused to leave the building he was in, but came out after a two-hour standoff. Bunt says Frias was arrested without incident.
“I think," Bunt says, "Frias probably realized the house was surrounded—his avenues of escape were not…there just wasn’t one. And it was just a matter of time before he was taken into custody; so I think, all of those factors being combined, he did the right thing and surrendered to law enforcement.”
Bunt says if Frias waives extradition, he could be back in Minnehaha County by the end of this week. He says if the suspect fights his extradition, it could be two or three weeks before he is returned to the state.