Inside the 1993 Killing of Cold as Life Singer Rodney Barger as Suspect Finally Caught in Panama After 30 Years

A man who was recently arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team (DFAT) in connection with a murder in 1993 was allegedly on the run for nearly three decades.

A 56-year-old man identified as Richard Wertien, who is also known as Joseph Alan Stavros, was recently arrested by the USMS and Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team (DFAT) in connection with the murder of his roommate in 1993. The victim was a 23-year-old man identified as Rodney “Rawn Beauty” Barger.

“The U.S. Marshall Service takes crimes of this nature very seriously, given the violent nature of the alleged offense and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The dedication of all my staff members who spearheaded the arrest of this fugitive, who has been on the run for 30 years, is a testament to their resolve. It sends a message to fugitives that there is no place you can hide that the US Marshals Service won’t find you and bring you to justice,” U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan Owen Cipher said.

In the aforementioned release, the DFAT stated that Werstine was first arrested by Detroit police days after he allegedly shot Beauty, but he failed to appear for his trial. Subsequently, a warrant for his arrest was issued in June 1994.

In May 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service took responsibility for finding the suspect and discovered that he had been arrested several times over the years under different names, “but his true identity was never known to authorities,” they stated.

Though the agency’s “state-of-the-art investigation resources and techniques,” and “numerous hours” of work, the fugitive was finally found and arrested in Pananma City at a local dog park on April 29, 2026.

“Over the previous year, DFAT developed several leads that channeled investigative efforts to Panama City. DFAT worked with the USMS’s Office of International Operations and Panamanian authorities in efforts to locate and apprehend Werstine,” the agency said.

Following his arrest, the suspect admitted to his true identity and confirmed that he was on the run. He entered Panama illegally in 2005 and never obtained legal status. On May 9, the Diplomatic Security Services and Homeland Security Investigations agents took him into custody. He was returned to the US, where he will be turned over to the Wayne County authorities, according to the press release.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Jimmy Allen, speaking to Local 4, said they took over the case and started from the beginning, using “modern-day investigative techniques to a really old case from the early 90s, and just kind of unwrapped the spider web.” He also revealed that Werstine built a new life in Panama and was married there.

Allen said the victim’s family can finally rest their heads as justice arrived after 30 years.