U.S. Marshals Arrest South Carolina Man on the Run for 15 Years

COLUMBIA, SC - John Wilcox was taken into custody today in Miami, FL. Wilcox, 41, was the subject of a 1991 South Carolina Probation warrant alleging that he absconded from supervision. He was originally charged in 1989 in Orangeburg County with Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Members of the Marshals’ fugitive task force, Operation Intercept, began looking for Wilcox on November 19. Investigators were able to determine that Wilcox was living in Miami using the alias of Lawrence Amey. Deputy marshals in South Carolina contacted their counterparts in Miami who were able to locate and apprehend Wilcox without incident. The case was worked out of Operation Intercept’s Florence office whose full-time members include investigators from the United States Marshals Service, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.

Established in 1789, the United States Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. In fiscal 2005, the Marshals arrested more than 35,500 federal fugitives, clearing 38,500 felony warrants. Marshals Service-led task forces like South Carolina’s Operation Intercept arrested 44,000 state and local fugitives, clearing 51,200 state and local felony warrants. Locally, Operation Intercept arrested over 2,900 South Carolina fugitives during that same period. More information about the Marshals and other South Carolina fugitives can be found on the web at www.usmarshals.gov.