Feds Seize Fugitive Supremacist On Marshals’ Most-Wanted List

A federal fugitive, ranked 15th on the U.S. Marshals Service most-wanted list, was captured in Priest River, Idaho, after hiding out in his booby-trapped Bonner County home for nearly a year.

Faron Lovelace, 59, was convicted of armed bank robbery and escaped from a Wisconsin prison about two years ago. He was arrested Sunday morning by Bonner County authorities and FBI agents.

Authorities waited for Lovelace, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, to leave his remote home near Priest Lake. While Lovelace rode his bike near a recreation area in Priest River, agents pulled up next to him in a car and forced him off the road.

“He went into a ditch on his bike and came back up with a pistol in his hand aimed at an officer,” Bonner County detective John Valdez said. “He was ready for a fight but gave up and no shots were fired.”

Authorities searched Lovelace’s home after his arrest and found homemade mines and explosives around the perimeter.

“He had them planted outside the house, and they were set to go off if anyone stepped on them. This guy wasn’t playing around,” Valdez said. “He also made it clear he was an Aryan and talked about his bigoted beliefs.”

Nine guns, including a sawed off shotgun and several weapons equipped with silencers, were confiscated from Lovelace’s house. A stolen tractor and survival gear was also recovered from the house.

Lovelace is being held in the Kootenai County Jail. Valdez said the arrest solved several burglaries in the county and that Lovelace is being questioned about other crimes.

Bonner County authorities discovered Lovelace was hiding here by accident. The case began in May when a county employee disappeared for a month.

The man, John Jenkins, worked at a garbage transfer station and failed to show up for work several days in a row. The county reported Jenkins missing in early May. A month later Jenkins showed up back home and told detectives he had been kidnapped and taken to the Priest Lake area.

Valdez said the man faked the kidnapping story but when detectives checked out the Priest Lake area they stumbled on Lovelace’s home. After running a background check, they learned Lovelace was a federal fugitive and called in the FBI.

Agents had Lovelace under surveillance for a month before arranging to arrest him in Priest River.

, DataTimes