East Texas Most Wanted Arrested by U.S. Marshals Task Force

TYLER — The United States Marshals Service Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force facilitated the arrest of Jerry Don Whatley Tuesday. Authorities say Whatley had been on the run for the last five years, and was a Van Zandt County “Most Wanted” Fugitive. Whatley was wanted for bond forfeiture/aggravated sex assault of a child since January 10, 2007. The U.S. Marshals Task Force, Tyler Division, was approached by the Canton, TX, Police Department for help with bringing Whatley to justice. The Tyler U.S. Marshals adopted this fugitive case in October 2011, and investigators began developing various leads to locate him.

This fugitive investigation was accomplished by the network of U.S. Marshals offices around the country. Marshals in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida were involved in this investigation. Over the past several months, Investigators conducted interviews and surveillance at various locations, eventually leading to Whatley’s arrest. It was determined that Whatley was actually living in two places, one in Texas and the other in Okeechobee, Florida, and traveling back and forth. To complicate things even more, authorities say, Whatley had assumed a new identity. In the last few weeks, enough information developed that placed Whatley in Okeechobee.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals, Fort Pierce FL Division, located the address, and observed a vehicle with a Texas plate in the driveway. The arrest culminated with a traffic stop of this vehicle where Whatley was identified as the driver. Authorities say Whatley was found to be in possession of false identification documents. They say the false I.D. card contained his photo, but was bearing the name David Simms. Whatley was also allegedly found to be in possession of counterfeit currency. Whatley is now in custody of the Okeechobee Sheriff’s Office, where he will await extradition proceedings back to Texas. Local charges are also being filed on Whatley in Florida as a result of this arrest.