A 50-year-old Florida fugitive who skipped court on serious felony and traffic charges was quietly picked up in the heart of Cruz Bay, St. John, after U.S. Marshals traced him to a local tattoo business. Authorities say Robert Gary was arrested without incident near the town’s U.S. Post Office on Tuesday, after a Jacksonville-area fugitive task force flagged him on a failure-to-appear warrant tied to those outstanding charges.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Gary was the subject of a collateral lead sent by the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force in Jacksonville and was wanted on a failure-to-appear warrant out of that city. Investigators said they positively identified him at about 12:15 p.m. as he walked near the Cruz Bay Post Office, then moved in and took him into custody.
Wanted Out Of Jacksonville
The warrant stems from a slate of charges that includes alleged aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, resisting without violence and other traffic-related counts, as reported by the Virgin Islands Consortium. The outlet noted that the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force in Jacksonville generated the collateral lead that kicked off the investigation in the Virgin Islands.
How Marshals Tracked Him To Cruz Bay
Investigators with the U.S. Marshals in St. Thomas developed a key clue that pointed straight to Cruz Bay. They tied a local tattoo shop, licensed to “Eric Gary,” to the fugitive. That name was already listed as an alias for Robert Gary, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Using that business lead, marshals zeroed in on his location.
The operation in the District of the Virgin Islands pulled in backup from the Virgin Islands Police Department Special Response Team and special agents from the Virgin Islands Department of Justice, who assisted in the arrest, the agency said.
Task Forces On The Hunt
The case is a textbook example of how regional fugitive task forces share information and muscle to chase down suspects across state and territorial lines. The Virgin Islands Consortium reported that the Marshals Service tallied 73,323 fugitive arrests and cleared 87,984 warrants in 2025, roughly 293 arrests a day, according to figures the agency released last year.
What The Law Says He Faces
Gary now has to answer for the outstanding failure-to-appear warrant in Jacksonville. Under Florida law, failing to honor a written promise to appear in court can bring fines or jail time up to the maximum sentence for the original charge, per Florida Statutes ยง901.31 on Justia…