| U.S. MARSHALS ADD
DEADBEAT DAD AND GIRLFRIEND TO 15 MOST WANTED LIST |
Louisville, KY – U.S. Marshals have added
“deadbeat dad” Byron Keith Perkins and his girlfriend
Lea Ann Howard to their 15
Most Wanted fugitive list as they increase the effort to track down the man
who promised to donate a kidney to his ailing son, but skipped town instead. This
callous act resulted in his being dubbed the “most hated man in America.”
“This case was made one of our priorities because
of the urgent nature of the situation. The life of
this man’s son is in jeopardy unless he gets this kidney transplant,” said
Robert J. Finan II, Assistant Director of the U.S. Marshals Investigative
Services Division.
Perkins (37) was allowed to leave jail in January
after he convinced authorities that he was going
to donate a kidney to save the life of his desperately ill son. He was in jail
awaiting sentencing on a gun and drug conviction for which the minimum jail term
is 25 years. A career criminal, he had previously served seven years for bank
robbery.
Marshals believe Perkins is traveling with his
girlfriend Lea Ann Howard (36). They were last
seen driving in a 1994 blue-green Ford Crown Victoria with Kentucky license
plate 784-BHS. There have been reports that the fugitive couple might have fled
to Mexico where they were allegedly sighted near Puerto Vallarta. Both Perkins
and Howard have criminal records involving drugs and weapons, and Howard has a
prior conviction for solicitation to murder.
“I’ve dealt with many unsavory characters during
my career, but this one is particularly vile. His
own son’s life is at stake here,” said U.S. Marshal Ronald “Rick” McCubbin.
Byron Keith Perkins, alias Eric Perkins, is a white male, height 6”3”, weight
240 pounds. He has
brown eyes and hair, and a medium complexion. He has tattoos on both his left
and right forearms, upper arms and shoulders.
Lea Ann Howard. alias Lea Ann Spradlin, Lea Ann
Alford, and Lea Ann Perkins, is a white
female, height 5”7”, weight 120 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair and medium
complexion. An insulin dependent diabetic, Howard also has a stab wound scar on
her back and wears glasses. Howard is wanted by the U.S. Marshals for unlawful
flight to avoid prosecution based on Kentucky state charges of robbery,
marijuana trafficking, and persistent felony offender.
“We are focusing on bringing these fugitives in
both to serve justice and to see if Perkins makes
good on a promise to save his son’s life,” said Marshal McCubbin.
Both Perkins and Howard are considered armed and
dangerous. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information directly
leading to the arrest of either Byron Keith Perkins or Lea
Ann Howard. Anyone with information about these fugitives is asked to call the
U.S. Marshals at 877-WANTED2.
Fugitive apprehension is one of the major
missions of the U.S. Marshals. They capture more
federal fugitives each year than all other law enforcement agencies combined.
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