Posted 8:46 am Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wanted Man Captured After 5 Years On The Run
By TIM MONZINGO
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
After more than five years on the run, a Van Zandt County most wanted man is back in custody.
U.S. Marshals tracked Jerry Don Whatley, 38, across four states, over more than 1,100 miles before finally taking him into custody Tuesday for bond forfeiture and aggravated sexual assault of a child charges stemming from January 2007.
Whatley was in custody at the Okeechobee County Jail in Okeechobee, Fla. after being arrested Tuesday afternoon on the Texas warrant, jail officials said. His bond was set at $150,000.
A message left with the Canton Police Department for more information on the case was not returned before press time Tuesday.
Michael Rogillio, the lead investigator with the marshal's office working the case, said it is unclear how long it will be before Whatley is extradited to Texas. He said charges for a fake ID and counterfeit money found in Whatley's possession were pending.
"He'll have to come back to Texas sometime," Rogillio said. "Those Okeechobee charges have to be dealt with first."
Whatley apparently maintained homes in Texas and Florida and spent his time traveling between the two states. The Texas home was in Alvarado, south of Fort Worth, Rogillio said.
"Over the last several months, investigators conducted interviews and surveillance at sev
eral locations," according to a news release from the marshal's office.
Marshals from the Fort Pierce, Fla. office watched the home in which Whatley, whose fake ID identified him at David Simms, was believed to be living. The Texas license plate on a vehicle tipped them off and marshals made a traffic stop when they identified Whatley as the driver.
Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony in Texas.
