From Fugitive to Prisoner: The Return of Joseph Budna

Tonight, we take a closer look at the man behind the headlines, Joseph Budna. His name has been tied to controversy for over two decades, from run-ins with the law to prison escapes and disturbing allegations. Budna first made news back in 2000 when he was convicted for abusing a minor. Since then, his name has surfaced time and again in cases involving young victims. In 2019, he escaped police custody in Guatemala while serving time for kidnapping minors. News Five’s Paul Lopez has more on Budna’s long and complicated history with the law.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Joseph Budna, once a fugitive on the run in Guatemala, is now back behind bars in that very country, this time to finish serving a thirty-year sentence for kidnapping. He’s forty-five now, and his return marks the end of a six-year stretch evading authorities after a daring escape. But how did Budna end up back across the border after all that time on the run? His story reads like a crime thriller. Budna’s troubles with the law go way back. In 2000, he was convicted in Belize for offenses involving a fourteen-year-old minor and sent to the Belize Central Prison. Six years into his sentence, he tried to escape, scaling the prison fence in a bold attempt to break free. Fast forward to 2011, and Budna’s name surfaced again, this time linked to a robbery in Belize City. Later that same year, he made headlines once more, accusing the police of illegally detaining him.

 

Joseph Budna, Fugitive (File: Nov 7^th, 2011)

“After leaving the station, I contacted my attorney Mr. Elrington immediately and informed him about the detention which I believe was illegal and we’re taking legal action upon this detention because it’s first time the police have been harassing me.”

 

In 2012, Guatemalan investigators linked Joseph Budna to the kidnapping of three teens allegedly held in Honduras. He was also accused of trafficking weapons. A year later, he got twenty-five years behind bars; and in 2014, another thirty-year sentence for kidnapping a man and demanding a million-quetzal ransom. Budna didn’t go quietly. He tried escaping from a hospital in 2014 but was caught three days later near the Honduran border. In 2019, he pulled off another escape, this time making it all the way into Belize.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police (File: May 28^th, 2019)

“We were alerted yesterday by [the Ministry of] Foreign Affairs that he had escaped from some hospital in Guatemala or somewhere in Guatemala and is currently being sought by Guatemalan authorities.  And so yes, we have also put out an all points bulletin here in Belize with a view to apprehend Joseph Budna.”

 

Two months later he was detained in Camalote Village. But, one major hurdle presented itself.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police (File: Jul 12^th, 2019)

“We do not have an extradition treaty with Guatemala and so if it is that he is to be sent back to Guatemala to serve whatever prison sentence he was serving there, that is something that the Guatemalan government will have to work out through the diplomatic channels with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conjunction with the A.G. Ministry.”

 

At the time he was also wanted in Belize for a matter before the court. Then came this infamous interview with Budna himself, a few days after his detention in Belize.

 

Joseph Budna, Fugitive (File: July 15^th, 2019)

“It feels good, you know, to be home a free man, Land of the Free, you know, Belize is the Land of the Free and thank God for that.  I think God is the one that led me to where I am today because if it was not for him, you know, I wouldn’t have been where I am today.  Joseph Budna is not a kidnapper.  If I was a kidnapper then how many Belizeans would have gone missing?  The police would have already dealt with me.  I don’t commit crime in my country and when I was in Guatemala, as a matter of fact, it was not a kidnapping ring as it was said by Guatemalan media that I was a ring leader.  It’s just that they were using my vehicle and I was with persons who were getting money from their parents and they pretended to have been kidnapped, for which they should have been charged and given the same sentence that I was given, but they didn’t because they are Guatemalans and I am a Belizean.”

 

But his run ins with the law did not end there. In 2023, the unthinkable happened. He was inside a bedroom at a farm along Branch Mouth Road when gunshots shattered the quiet. When the smoke cleared, a teenage boy was found dead inside that same room.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police (File: Aug 21^st, 2023)

“He further went on to disclose that he believed that the shooting was done by another person, who he alleged wanted to engage in sexual activity with him for a certain sum of money, but he does not have that amount of money, so he declined that offer.”

 

Budna was detained for questioning and later released. A year later he was charged with the crime of committing murder, tied to a 2021 stabbing incident that claimed the life of Armando Cocao.

 

Joseph Budna, Fugitive (File: July 29, 2024)

“They are false. There is no evidence of the charges. Right? There’s no evidence. So, if I am found dead in a cell block, it’s the police.”

 

Ryan Joseph Budna has been a controversial social media personality since his escape from Guatemalan authorities in 2019. He has also faced charges for cyberbullying. Budna initially posed as a spiritual healer.

                 

Paul Lopez

“You’ve had what some would describe as a troubling past, especially in the eyes of the public. Why should anyone empathize at this point?”

 

Joseph Budna, Fugitive (File: Aug 4^th, 2024)

“I am not asking anyone to side with me, the people know where I stand and what is happening and the games being played.”

 

Tonight, Budna is behind bars in Guatemala. And how he ended up there is at the center of an ongoing investigation. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.