CRUZ BAY CAPTURE: Florida Fugitive Wanted for Assaulting Law Enforcement Snared in St. John
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun News Reporter
CRUZ BAY — A Florida man who spent nearly three years evading high-level felony charges in the Sunshine State has run out of road in Love City.
On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at approximately 12:20 PM, special agents with the Virgin Islands Department of Justice tracked down and apprehended 31-year-old Robert Neil Gary in the vicinity of Cruz Bay, St. John. Gary was detained pursuant to an active, multi-jurisdictional outstanding warrant issued out of Duval County, Florida.
According to Superior Court dockets, local authorities were alerted to Gary’s presence in the territory via a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database match. The digital tripwire revealed that Gary had been a wanted man since September 11, 2023, when Florida Judge Tatiana Salvador issued a bench warrant following his failure to appear in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court.
The underlying criminal charges awaiting Gary in Jacksonville carry a strict "No Bond" status and stem from a violent sequence of events. He faces multiple felony and misdemeanor counts, including:
Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer
Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Injury
Resisting an Officer Without Violence
Reckless Driving
Operating a Motor Vehicle Without a Valid License
Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Attended Property
Following his lunchtime arrest by VIDOJ Special Agent Kenneth Arthur, Gary was transported across the pillowy tropical waters to St. Thomas, where he was booked, processed, and remanded to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections facility.
Court records indicate that Gary’s stay in the local prison system will be brief. During his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull, Gary executed a formal Waiver of Extradition. By signing the document, he consented to bypass the lengthy Governor's Warrant process and waived his right to contest the legality of his arrest via a writ of habeas corpus.
Assistant Attorney General Brenda Scales submitted a formal petition requesting that Gary remain held without bond until Florida authorities arrive to escort him back to Duval County to face the music. Judge VanHolten-Turnbull granted the request, officially authorizing Florida law enforcement agents to take custody of the fugitive for immediate transfer off-island.
The swift apprehension highlights a quiet, ongoing campaign by the territory's justice system to ensure the Caribbean islands don't become a convenient canvas for off-island fugitives attempting an abstract re-write of their criminal pasts.
