David J. Wilburn is the Acting U.S. Marshal (USM) for the Eastern District of Missouri. Acting USM Wilburn began his law enforcement career in 1997 when he enlisted with the U.S. Army after graduating from high school in Radcliff, Kentucky. He served as a Military Police Officer with the 401st MP Company, 89th MP Brigade and the 178th MP Detachment, at Fort Hood, Texas. He served proudly for five years, attaining the rank of Sergeant. During his tenure with the U.S. Army, he deployed to combat zones including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia. Acting USM Wilburn was recognized and selected as Fort Hood Soldier of the Year and European theatre (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Soldier of the Year.
In 2002, he joined the U.S. Marshals Service and was assigned to the Southern District of Ohio. He spent five years within the district and served in the Cincinnati and Dayton sub-offices. Acting USM Wilburn most notably worked as a team leader for the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) in which he executed hundreds of arrests before relocating to the Eastern District of Missouri. In the Eastern District of Missouri, Mr. Wilburn served in various roles. First as a team leader and Field Training Officer for the Metropolitan Fugitive Task Force. In addition, he was selected as the district’s first Asset Forfeiture Financial Investigator and, later, as a Sex Offender Investigations Coordinator.
In 2016, Mr. Wilburn was selected and joined the U.S. Marshals Service’s Investigative Operations Division (IOD) in the Sex Offender Investigations Branch (SOIB) in Arlington, Virginia. He was assigned as the Operations Chief and oversaw the National Sex Offender Targeting Center. He worked in this capacity until 2018 before he was selected as the Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Central District of Illinois.
In 2020, Acting USM Wilburn was asked by the Director’s Office to take a Management Directed Reassignment back to the Eastern District of Missouri and assist a large district in need of strong leadership and restructuring. Previously, Acting U.S. Marshal Wilburn served as the Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Missouri and served as the second in command for the district in one of the largest and most violent districts in the country. He oversees all Eastern District of Missouri’s USMS operational personnel, programs, and missions including investigative and intelligence operations, judicial and witness security, prisoner security and transportation, tactical operations, and asset forfeiture.
Acting USM Wilburn holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from the American Military University. He resides in Troy, Illinois with his wife, Hillary, who serves as a United States Probation Officer. Together they have five children (four girls and one boy).