U.S. MARSHALS ARREST BARRICADED FUGITIVE AFTER STANDOFF

FROM: U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 
Barricaded Fugitive Arrested by Marshals Task Force; Four Other Felons Also Captured

Pensacola, FL – The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force was able to convince a wanted fugitive out of an attic late today after a brief standoff. The Task Force was conducting surveillance in search of Charles Randall Butler, Jr. when they spotted him walking around an apartment complex on the 1900 block of Langley Avenue. Butler then bolted from them and into an apartment. After about an hour, a Deputy Marshal persuaded the 25 year-old Butler to come out peacefully without any further resistance. Butler is wanted by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for felon in possession of a gun, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, 2 counts of probation violation and failure to appear on a resisting charge. The Task Force also encountered another man, Jamie Joyce, 22, while trying to arrest Butler who also tried to flee. After Joyce saw the officers he reportedly threw a .40 caliber handgun to the ground and a pill bottle filled with a substance that tested positive for crack-cocaine before fleeing. Joyce is being charged with felon in possession of a gun, possession of crack-cocaine and marijuana.

The Task Force and supporters from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton County Sheriff’s Office as well as The Ft. Walton Beach Police Department, FDLE and the FBI started earlier that day which resulted in three other violent fugitives being apprehended. Around 9 o’clock they arrested Brad Tucker without incident at a house near the corner of I and Government Streets after he was spotted getting into a car. Tucker, 29, is wanted by Escambia County for kidnapping and cruelty toward a child. Tucker was also charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana at the time of his arrest. Tucker had been arrested in 2011 as well by the US Marshals Task Force in Atlanta on gun charges out of Escambia County. Just before noon the Task Force caught up with TW (“TW” is the proper first name and spelling) Shiver inside a home on the 20 Block of Horn Street. Shiver was taken into custody after a brief stand-off at the door at the home. The 26 year-old Shiver is wanted by Escambia on two counts of aggravated assault and property damage-criminal mischief. He reportedly made threats that he was going to “…paint the town red” if the cops come for him. Just before the capturing Butler, the Task Force nabbed 21 year-old Treyon Marquil Thames wanted on a warrant for aggravated assault with a gun; when he reportedly pulled a handgun on female, pointed it to her head and pulled the trigger. It is unknown why the gun did not fire and she got away. Thames was arrested around 5 pm without incident, at a relative’s home on the 600 Block of E. Baars Street. All men were booked into the Escambia County Jail. The statuses of their bonds are unknown at this time.

ALLEGED MURDERERS OF DEA AGENT JAMES TERRY WATSON CHARGED

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Six Colombian Nationals Charged with Murder of DEA Agent

Six Colombian nationals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson.

“Special Agent Watson was a brave public servant who dedicated his life to protecting the country he loved.  He was a hero, in every sense of the word, who was taken from us far too suddenly and far too soon," said Attorney General Eric Holder.  “With today's arrests, we take an important step towards ensuring that those allegedly responsible for his senseless murder are brought to justice.  We also send an unmistakable message to all who commit acts of violence against America's law enforcement professionals:  no matter who you are or where you live, we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 38; Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27; Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 26; Hector Leonardo Lopez, 23; Julio Estiven Gracia Ramierez, 30; and Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 21, were each charged with two counts of second degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap.  Oviedo-Garcia was also charged with two counts of assault.

Additionally, the grand jury indicted Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 30, also a Colombian national, for his alleged efforts to destroy evidence associated with the murder of Special Agent Watson.

According to the indictment, Figueroa, Valdes, Bello, Lopez, Gracia and Oviedo-Garcia were part of a kidnapping and robbery conspiracy that utilized taxi cabs in Bogota, Colombia, to lure victims into a position where they could be attacked and robbed.  Once an intended victim entered a taxi cab, the driver of the taxi cab would signal other conspirators to commence the robbery and kidnapping operation.

The indictment alleges that on June 20, 2013, while he was working for the U.S. Mission in Colombia, Special Agent Watson entered a taxi cab operated by one of the defendants.  Special Agent Watson was then allegedly attacked by two other defendants – one who stunned Special Agent Watson with a stun gun and another who stabbed Special Agent Watson with a knife, resulting in his death.

The charges were announced by Attorney General Holder; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Derek S. Maltz of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division; and Director Gregory B. Starr of the Diplomatic Security Service for the U.S. Department of State.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, DEA and Diplomatic Security Service, in close cooperation with Colombian authorities, and with assistance from INTERPOL and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Counsel Stacey Luck and Trial Attorney Christine Duey from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.  The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, Colombian National Police, Colombian Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN), DIJIN Special Investigative Unit, Bogota Metropolitan Police and Colombian Technical Investigation Team for their extraordinary efforts, support and professionalism in responding to this incident.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.