U.S. Marshals Major Case Fugitive Arrest

Cheyenne, WY – The U.S. Marshals (USMS) in Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado, working with multiple partner agencies, Jan. 9 arrested in Colorado a Wyoming man charged in Big Horn County with multiple counts of child sex crimes.

Anthony Preston Pease, 39, of Byron, was charged Nov. 4, 2025, in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for the State of Wyoming, County of Big Horn, with six counts of felony sexual assault involving a minor. He was on parole at the time for strangling a former girlfriend in rural Cody in 2019.

The USMS District of Wyoming Fugitive Task Force (WFTF) adopted apprehension responsibility for the Pease fugitive investigation on Nov. 12, 2025, and on Dec. 4, 2025, the USMS elevated the Pease investigation to a major case status, offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to his arrest.

WFTF members teamed up with the District of Montana Violent Offender Task Force, travelling to Big Horn County on multiple occasions in the Pease investigation.  

On Jan. 9 investigators with WFTF developed information that Pease had fled the Big Horn County area to Fort Collins, Colorado.  

Pease was located in Fort Collins and arrested by the WFTF, District of Colorado Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, Fort Collins Police Department Criminal Impact Unit, Fort Collins Police Department, and the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.  

Pease was taken into custody without incident but was arrested with a stolen vehicle. He is suspected of having been involved in multiple burglaries during the course of the investigation.

Pease is being held in Larimer County, Colorado, awaiting extradition to Big Horn County.   

“It’s been a long couple of months, but we finally got him,” said District of Wyoming Acting Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Stephenson. “I applaud the diligence and determined efforts of our task forces and our partners in Montana and Colorado who endured long days through treacherous mountainous terrain, frigid weather, and crippling winds of over 90 mph in the search for Mr. Pease.”

Between Nov. 12, 2025, and Jan. 9, multiple agencies were involved in the search for Pease.  The agencies involved included: the District of Wyoming Fugitive Task Force, composed of USMS, Cheyenne Police Department, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and Gillette Police Department; the District of Montana Violent Offender Task Force; the District of Colorado Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; USMS Investigations Operations Division, USMS Tactical Operations Division, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, Park County Sheriff’s Office, Cody Police Department, Powell Police Department, Lovell Police Department, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Anyone with information about wanted fugitives is encouraged to submit it via the USMS Tips app.