More than 36 years after one of U.S. Army's "15 Most Wanted" fugitives escaped from a federal prison in Kansas and went on the run, he was arrested in Florida on Thursday, Reuters reported.
As he showed up for work near Deerfield Beach, Florida, James Robert Jones, a U.S. Army private, was arrested, the U.S. Marshall's Service said in a statement.
"I knew it would catch up to me one day," Jones reportedly told authorities after his arrest, according to Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden, WFOR-TV reported.
He had been living in Florida under an alias and admitted his real identity shortly after he was arrested.
According to Reuters, Jones was convicted of premeditated murder and aggravated assault in 1974. He was serving a 23-year sentence when he escaped from a maximum-security prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1977.
The U.S. military has its own law enforcement and judicial processes that parallel civilian systems.
Jones obtained a fake Florida driver's license and changed his birthdate four years later. However, he listed his actual address, the Marshals Service said.
Investigators were able to locate Jones with the help of new information, officials said.
A facial recognition database was used by authorities to help identify him. They conducted surveillance on his home early Thursday before following him to his job, where he was arrested without incident, Reuters reported.
"This arrest is an excellent example of the dedication, hard work and great cooperation of the U.S. Marshals and the military liaison officers assigned to the targeting center," said William Snelson, assistant director of the Marshals Service Investigative Operations Division.
"Capturing a cold case fugitive who has been on the run for almost 37 years is a great arrest for law enforcement, but it also is comforting to the families of the original victim to know the person who escaped from custody is now behind bars again."
Jones is being held in a Florida jail before he is placed in the custody of the U.S. Army.
