U.S. Marshals Arrest Army '15 Most Wanted' Fugitive | WPN World People News

The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force (Fort Lauderdale team) this morning arrested James Robert Jones, a fugitive wanted by the Department of Defense and listed as one of the U.S. Army’s 15 Most Wanted for escape from a federal prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., announced officials with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Army.

Jones, a private in the U.S. Army, was convicted of premeditated murder and aggravated assault in 1974 and was serving a 23-year sentence when he escaped from the maximum security facility in 1977.

In January 2014, the U.S. Army requested U.S. Marshals Service assistance to find Jones. USMS National Sex Offender Targeting Center members, along with an Army Military Police Liaison Team, produced numerous leads in recent months. New information directed investigators to Deerfield Beach, Fla., where task force members took Jones into custody. After he was fingerprinted, he admitted his identity.

Jones obtained a fraudulent Florida driver’s license in 1981 and used the name Bruce Walter Keith. On official documents, he changed his birth date but maintained his true birth year of 1954 and used his actual address of residence in Deerfield Beach.

Using a facial recognition database, U.S. Marshals investigators working the fugitive investigation found a positive match for Jones, under his alias Bruce Walter Keith identity living in Florida. Members of the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force conducted surveillance on Jones’ residence this morning and followed him to a work location, before approaching his vehicle and placing him under arrest without incident.

Jones was taken to the Broward Sheriff’s Office for fingerprinting, where investigators obtained a positive fingerprint match. He is booked into to the Broward County jail until the U.S. Army takes custody.

“This arrest is an excellent example of the dedication, hard work and great cooperation of the U.S. Marshals and the Army Military Police Liaison Team assigned to the targeting center,” said William Snelson, assistant director of the USMS Investigative Operations Division. “Capturing a cold case fugitive who has been on the run for almost 37 years is a great arrest for law enforcement, but it also is comforting to the families of the original victim to know the person who escaped from custody is now behind bars again.”

Source: U.S. Marshals Service