Fugitive Arrested

David W. Welker, Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division of the FBI, announced that members of the FBI’s SWAT team and New Orleans Violent Crime Task Force (NOVCTF) arrested an individual wanted on rape and murder charges out of Texas.

Today at approximately 11:20 a.m., Anthony Wayne O’Neal, of New Orleans, Louisiana, age 40, was located and arrested in the 4000 block of Iris Street in New Orleans.

O’Neal was being sought for an alleged murder in Temple, Texas and sexual assault in Lorena, Texas which occurred on August 22, 2010. O’Neal then allegedly stole the sexual assault victim’s vehicle, which was recovered in Rayne, Louisiana on August 23, 2010. The FBI’s San Antonio Division obtained a federal fugitive warrant and the investigation led to today’s arrest.

The NOVCTF is comprised of members of the New Orleans Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, Kenner Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Louisiana State Police, and the FBI.

The public is reminded that these charges are not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in criminal cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.