For Immediate Release

Ft. Walton Beach, FL – The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force from Pensacola and The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT) apprehended an Okaloosa man after he barricaded himself inside of a 1 bedroom apartment. At about 2:30 p.m. the Task Force surrounded a unit of the Royale Apartment complex on Colonial Court, in Ft. Walton Beach. They quickly gained entry into the apartment once they knew fugitive Ian Phillip Garroutte was there. Garroutte was believed to be armed with a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Once inside the apartment officers determined that the 21 year old Garroutte hid in the closet of a bathroom. After Marshals and task force members from Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties attempted to communicate with Garroutte and he wouldn’t answer, they immediately requested the assistance from the Special Response Team. The whole building was then evacuated out of concern for the safety of those living inside the unit.

“Although we train for these types of scenarios and are equipped to deal with them, they (the SRT) train more and are better equipped,” said Dominic Guadagnoli Inspector for the Pensacola Task Force. “Too many officers have been killed or injured in these situations; there is no need to be the hero.”

A short while after members from SRT were on scene they were able to get Garroutte to talk to them. Even though the fugitive seemed calm and was communicating with them he kept asking for officers to come to where he was hiding to talk.

“That is an absolute no-dice deal.” “The officer who was talking to him was calm and patient and did a great job of getting Garroutte to surrender to him,” Guadagnoli said.

Garroutte was finally in custody at about 5:30 p.m. yesterday and no weapon was found. Garroutte was wanted by the Ft. Walton Beach Police Department for Kidnapping, Aggravated Battery, and 2 counts of Grand Theft Auto. He was also charged with Possession of Cocaine and Resisting as a result of his arrest. It is believed that Garroutte will be charged for another auto theft charge for a stolen car out of TN that he was seen driving in earlier. Garroutte was brought to the Okaloosa County Jail and held on no bond as of this morning.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

####

America’s Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency