A local police officer in Florida caught a guy on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list during a regular traffic stop over the weekend. The FBI praised the officer for the arrest.
Sgt. Michelle Bilbrey arrested Donald Eugene Fields II, who is 60 years old, at about 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. The arrest took place at the intersection of U.S. Highway 27/441 and Rolling Acres Road in Lady Lake, according to a news statement from the Lady Lake Police Department.
Fields, who is charged with federal child sex trafficking and state child rape, was caught when Bilbrey checked the license plate of his car and found it didn’t match the vehicle he was driving, according to the police.
Lady Lake Police Chief Steve Hunt commended Bilbrey and the staff for their watchfulness and commitment to daily police work.
Sometimes, a regular police stop can lead to big changes. Hunt said, “This is a reminder that every officer is making a real difference every day.” “Every traffic stop is a chance for fairness.” What begins as a regular meeting can quickly become an important moment. An officer’s keen feelings and commitment to their job can result in a major arrest, making our community and country safer.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson praised the local officer and her police force.
“Johnson said that because of the proactive efforts of the Lady Lake Police Department, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives has been caught.”
Field was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 2023.
He has been on the run since March 2022 after missing a court meeting in Franklin County, Missouri. He is wanted for serious charges, including statutory rape, sodomy, child molestation, and witness tampering, according to police and the FBI.
Fields was also federally indicted in St. Louis on Dec. 7, 2023, for trying to recruit and exploit a minor for commercial sex acts between January 2013 and June 2017, officials said.
After his arrest, Fields will have his first court hearing in federal court in Florida.
Lady Lake is roughly 52 miles northwest of Orlando and located just east of The Villages.
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