Decatur, GA – On March 26, 2008, Investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF) arrested Kevin Armstead while he washed cars on Covington Highway in Decatur, Georgia. Acting on tips that were called in to America’s Most Wanted (AMW) this past Saturday night, U.S. Marshals SERFTF investigators managed to surround and arrest Armstead swiftly as he detailed a vehicle on Covington Highway. Armstead is wanted by the Baltimore City Police for First Degree Murder. He is accused of being a member of three man group who shot and killed local handy man and community figure over an altercation regarding drug sales turf.

The victim of this crime, Ricardo Paige, was a handyman who worked hard and often renovated run-down row houses in his tough neighborhood in North Baltimore. During some of these renovations, Paige would locate drugs and paraphernalia in these houses and would dispose of the items. It is believed he disposed of drugs that Armstead and his associates had stashed in one of the row houses. On March 20, 2007, Armstead and two of his associates are accused of kicking down the door of a house where Paige was working. After Paige tried to run and plea for his life, Armstead reportedly shot Paige to death. The other associates involved in this crime were previously located and arrested. Armstead remained at large until today.

The fugitive investigation for Kevin Armstead began in May of 2007 when the Baltimore City Police asked the United States Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) for assistance in locating Armstead. Leads were developed through AMW’s airing on March 22, 2008, that indicated Armstead might be staying in the Atlanta area. U.S. Marshals CARFTF investigators immediately notified U.S. Marshals SERFTF investigators in Atlanta and within hours, Armstead was in custody.

Kevin Armstead has a violent criminal history that includes gun charges, drug dealing and sex offenses. Armstead had also been designated as a sex offender with a requirement to register after being convicted of sex offense involving a child. Armstead had additional outstanding warrants in Baltimore for drug charges and for failing to register as a sex offender in Maryland. Further federal charges involving his failure to register after crossing state lines into Georgia are currently under investigation. He will be housed in the DeKalb County Jail until he is returned to Baltimore.

The U.S. Marshal’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF) is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the United States Marshals Service, as well as, 27 other local, state and federal agencies. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest the region’s most violent offenders. Since the inception of the task force in September of 2003, the U.S. Marshals SERFTF has closed over 11, 500 felony warrants. Annually, U.S. Marshals locate and arrest more fugitives than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.