JERSEY FUGITIVE NABBED AT ST. THOMAS FEDERAL COURTHOUSE FOLLOWING SENTENCING HEARING
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun Staff Writer
ST. THOMAS — An international fugitive wanted on the mainland for manufacturing fake government identification is in local custody following a coordinated hand-off between U.S. Marshals and Virgin Islands Department of Justice investigators.
Amalia M. Lacatus (also listed in court documents as Lacatusu) was arrested at the Ron de Lugo Federal Courthouse on Veterans Drive in Charlotte Amalie. She is currently being held at the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections pending an extradition transfer to Bergen County, New Jersey.
The Federal Hand-Off
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the St. Croix Sun, the operation began on Tuesday, May 26, when VIPD Captain Dominguez alerted VIDOJ Investigator Kenneth Arthur that Lacatus was wanted on an active, extraditable arrest warrant out of New Jersey.
At the time of the alert, Lacatus was already in federal custody and scheduled to be transported to St. Thomas on Friday, May 29, for a federal sentencing hearing.
Deputy U.S. Marshal L. Magras coordinated with local investigators, agreeing that the moment Lacatus was sentenced to "time served" by the federal court, federal custody would be terminated, and she would immediately be transferred to the VIDOJ for extradition.
Arrested at the Courthouse
On Friday, May 29, at approximately 9:53 a.m., Investigator Arthur arrived at the Ron de Lugo Federal Courthouse and met with Deputy U.S. Marshal R. Abraham.
At exactly 11:00 a.m., following the conclusion of her federal matter, Investigator Arthur and VIDOJ Special Agent Turnbull presented Lacatus with the Bergen County warrant and placed her under arrest as a fugitive from justice.
Lacatus was transported to the Richard Callwood Command, where she was booked and processed by the VIPD before being remanded to the Bureau of Corrections.
The New Jersey Charges
The underlying fugitive warrant was originally issued on May 27, 2025, by the Hon. Vincent J. Militello of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen Law Division.
In New Jersey, Lacatus faces a criminal charge of Manufacture of a False Government Issued ID (in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-2.1B).
Fast-Tracked Extradition
Formal documents filed this morning, June 1, reveal that Lacatus has already signed a Waiver of Extradition before Magistrate Judge Julie Smith-Todman in the Superior Court's St. Thomas and St. John Division.
By signing the waiver, Lacatus has consented to return to New Jersey voluntarily, bypassing the requirement for a formal Governor’s Warrant or a habeas corpus challenge.
Judge Smith-Todman has subsequently signed an Order of Extradition, remanding Lacatus to the Bureau of Corrections until authorized agents from the State of New Jersey arrive to fly her back to the mainland to face the music.
