Video footage suggests that Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former elected official from Rhode Island, may have fled to Russia after missing his trial. The video shows him signing documents in a military enlistment office in Siberia and expressing support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
A friend tells NBC10 Boston that a person seen in video posted by a Russia n TV network looks and sounds like Puello-Mota, who is believed to have fled the country after missing the start of his trial in January
His lawyer, John M. Cicilline, told The Boston Globe that he called Puello-Mota on Jan. 8, the day before he was expected to plead guilty. According to prosecutors, he boarded a flight from Washington, D.C., to Istanbul, Turkey, a day earlier.Cicilline said Puello-Mota wanted a career in politics and thought the criminal case had ruined his life.
Puello-Mota served in the U.S. Air Force and deployed to Afghanistan in 2015, when he was 19, media releases show. He later served with the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing as a security forces airman., after he called to report a stolen gun and police said they found nude images of a 17-year-old girl on his phone. He was charged with one count of having sexually explicit images of a child.
President Vladimir Putin has eliminated nearly all independent media in Russia — and state media aligned regularly trumpet Russian victories in Ukraine, denounce the West and otherwise amplify good news while ignoring the bad. U.S. State Department officials said they were aware of media reports about Puello-Mota fleeing to Russia but have had no contact with him and have no way to confirm those reports.
"Obviously it's a difficult situation. It's war. It's a special military operation," Puello-Mota says in the video, adding that he was lucky to be with"people from the international brigade.""We did our work. We did our job. We did what we were supposed to do," he said."I was very lucky and fortunate to serve with those guys. I definitely would do it again.
Wilmer Puello-Mota Rhode Island Russia Trial Missing Video Military Enlistment Support War Ukraine
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