$100,000 Reward to Be Paid

Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office Deirdre L. Fike and Charlie Beck, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), announced the arrest of murder suspect Marlon Jones, who was added to the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives only one day before he was arrested. Marlon Jones was the 510th addition to the Top Ten list and was being sought for his alleged involvement in a quadruple murder that occurred in the Southwest area of Los Angeles in the early morning hours of October 15, 2016.

The announcement of Jones’ addition to the list resulted in national publicity about the case, which generated tips to the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force (FTF) in Los Angeles. On Friday, December 2, the FTF received a tip that led investigators to a location in South Los Angeles. FTF members and LAPD officers spotted Jones and pursued the vehicle in which he rode as a passenger. The vehicle pursuit reached the northbound 110 Freeway, at which time the suspect fled the vehicle on foot, jumped over the freeway, and ran into the rear of an apartment complex. After being confronted by the residents, Jones fled the apartment, where officers observed him and took him into custody. Jones, who broke his ankle when he jumped over the freeway, received medical assistance before being booked by the Los Angeles Police Department for the state murder charges. Various specialized and patrol units of the LAPD participated in the pursuit and capture of Jones.

“Through social media apps, the fugitives on the Top Ten List now directly reach anyone with a cell phone,” said Deirdre L. Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The speedy apprehension of Jones was possible due to the publicity generated by his addition to the list, coupled with the skills and expertise of Fugitive Task Force members and LAPD officers.”

The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was established in March 1950. Since then, a total of 479 fugitives have been apprehended or located; 159 of them as a result of citizen cooperation. Since its inception, there have been 24 fugitives wanted from the Los Angeles region placed on the list. In addition, 36 fugitives that have been placed on the list were arrested in the Los Angeles region.

The FBI expects to pay the $100,000 reward that was offered for information that led to the arrest of Jones.

The fugitive investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles. The task force is a collaboration that has been in place for more than two decades, with full-time participation by FBI agents; detectives and officers with the Los Angeles Police Department; agents with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Parole Division; and officers with Los Angeles County Probation. The task force receives considerable assistance from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including agents with ICE-Homeland Security Investigations. The task force specializes in finding fugitives who are suspected of crimes that occur in the Los Angeles area, or suspects who flee from another jurisdiction to the Los Angeles area.

Background of Jones Investigation

While attending a birthday party on October 15, 2016, Jones allegedly shot and killed a rival Jamaican gang member. The party was being held at a crowded home in the West Adams District of Los Angeles that had been temporarily converted into a restaurant, according to detectives with the LAPD’s Criminal Gangs Homicide Division who are investigating the murders. According to detectives, an exchange of gunfire took place between rival gang members, leaving four dead and 10 others wounded.

Jones, who has a violent criminal history in the United States, is believed to be a member of an East Coast Jamaican criminal group involved in the illegal distribution of marijuana and may have been in Los Angeles to settle a disagreement with the rival gang. Jones is believed to be living in the United States illegally.

On October 21, 2016, a local arrest warrant was obtained by the Los Angeles Police Department for Jones in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, after he was charged with four counts of murder by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Shortly thereafter, Los Angeles County officials requested the assistance of the FBI in apprehending and returning defendant Jones to Los Angeles to face prosecution by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. On October 31, 2016, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Jones in the United States District Court, Central District of California, after he was charged in a criminal complaint with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

The federal government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging Jones with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) and he will be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.