Charleston, SC – Johnnie Elvin McKelvey
was taken into custody without incident yesterday in Jacksonville, FL.
McKelvey, 45, is alleged to have failed to appear to begin service of a
federal prison sentence in January 2004. McKelvey was convicted on a federal
charge of Felon in Possession of a Firearm in late 2003 and ordered to serve
180 months. He had been on the run for over four years. McKelvey’s long time
girlfriend, Paula Glenn, was also arrested yesterday in Monck’s Corner.
Glenn, 43, was charged in federal court with Concealing a Person from
Arrest. Glenn was booked into the Charleston County Jail awaiting court
proceedings. Deputy Marshals began
tracking McKelvey in January of 2004. They followed his trail from South
Carolina to several states along the eastern seaboard including
Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Deputy Marshals narrowly
missed apprehending McKelvey on one prior occasion in Jacksonville in April
of 2006. After this close call, McKelvey is believed to have fled to North
Carolina before returning to Florida where he was apprehended. In announcing
the duo’s arrest, United States Marshal Johnny Mack Brown said, “We believe
that one of the reasons Johnnie McKelvey was able to elude capture for so
long was the assistance of friends or acquaintances. Mr. McKelvey will now
face an extradition hearing in Florida and Ms. Glenn will appear in federal
court to answer the allegations against her.”
Established in 1789, the United States
Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. In
fiscal 2007, the Marshals arrested more than 36,000 federal fugitives,
clearing 38,900 felony warrants. Marshals Service-led task forces like South
Carolina’s Operation Intercept arrested 46,800 state and local fugitives,
clearing 58,663 state and local fugitives clearing 70,329 felony warrants.
Locally, Operation Intercept arrested over 2,500 South Carolina fugitives
during that same period. More information about the Marshals and other South
Carolina fugitives can be found on the web at
www.usmarshals.gov. |