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ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST
WANTED FUGITIVES ARRESTED IN LAS VEGAS
Jody Kenneth Thompson, a U.S. Marshals
Service Top 15 Most Wanted Fugitive, was arrested today in Las Vegas, NV by
members of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Department’s SWAT Team and Robbery Detail. An anonymous tipster provided
information to the Marshals as to the whereabouts of Thompson. Investigators
developed this information which led them to an apartment in the 3900 block
of Mountain Vista St. As investigators from both departments closed in on
the address, Thompson fled and ran to a residence in the 4500 block of
Margarete Ave where he forced entry and attempted to hide. Thompson was
found a short time later and placed under arrest without further incident.
United States Marshals Service Acting
Director John Clark stated, “The arrest of this fugitive was a collaborative
effort that demonstrated that law enforcement working with the community and
the media serves the public interest.” District of Nevada Acting United
States Marshal Fidencio Rivera stated, “We are grateful for the opportunity
to provide our expertise in assisting our state and local partners in order
to remove violent fugitives from our streets. Today one individual who
showed flagrant disregard for the judicial system is behind bars. Crime does
not pay.”
Thompson is the man who mastered a prison break fueled by love and a free
ride. On the morning of August 25, 2005, Thompson and others who were
serving their sentences at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC)
were assigned to load furniture onto a delivery truck going to the Lovelock
Correctional Center. At approximately 8:30 a.m. the delivery truck departed
NNCC. However, at approximately 11:30 a.m. Thompson was unaccounted for and
believed to have escaped on the truck.
Ironically he escaped with the assistance of
Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) employee and love interest Ana
Kastner. Kastner allegedly smuggled a cell phone into the prison and gave it
to Thompson on or about August 13, two weeks prior to his escape. Their
romantic relationship and her involvement were discovered during the
investigation into Thompson’s escape. She was arrested on August 27.
Thompson, 25, was serving 12 consecutive
sentences of 30 to 150 months each for charges of kidnapping, robbery with a
deadly weapon, and burglary. On September 2, he picked up his old habits
while on the run when he allegedly committed an armed robbery of a bar
outside of Las Vegas, NV, where he managed to escape with more than $18,000.
On that same day, authorities were hot on
Thompson’s trail, and located him at a residence in Las Vegas. While
preparing to arrest him, a vehicle with a lone female driver exited the
targeted residence. Law enforcement officers pulled over the vehicle only
blocks away from the residence in an attempt to interview the driver
regarding her knowledge and association with the fugitive. After pulling
over and stopping, the female driver exited the vehicle and approached the
police patrol car. At the same time, a male appeared in the driver’s seat of
the vehicle and drove off, leading authorities on a high-speed chase.
Thompson eventually crashed the vehicle, but
led authorities on a foot pursuit. While on foot, he committed an armed home
invasion and stole a car, which resulted in another high-speed chase. He
crashed this car as well, but managed to again evade capture. Further
investigation revealed that he allegedly committed another armed robbery in
the Las Vegas area since his escape, where he netted more than $27,000.
Thompson had not been seen since, until today.
U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary
fugitive hunting organization and capture more federal fugitives each year
than all other national law enforcement agencies combined. Four of the
individuals on their 15 MOST WANTED list have been apprehended in recent
months.
Thompson’s
wanted poster, and
original
wanted release, are on the U.S. Marshals website,
www.usmarshals.gov .
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