CHARLOTTE AMALIE — More details are emerging about the two fugitives from justice who were intercepted at the Cyril E. King Airport over the holidays.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently detained two people on St. Thomas, including a sex offender wanted in Pennsylvania, and a woman who is wanted in Texas for identity theft.
The first arrest occurred December 28, when federal agents discovered an active arrest warrant out of Pennsylvania for 56-year-old Miguel Angel Pagan-Ortiz, and prevented him from boarding a flight.
Agents took him into custody and held him until Virgin Islands Police could respond and arrest Pagan-Ortiz as a fugitive from justice.
According to court records, Pagan-Ortiz was ordered to register as a sex offender for life after a 2012 conviction for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
In February, authorities in Pennsylvania attempted to locate Pagan-Ortiz to confirm his registration, but have been unable to make contact with him, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in that state.
Pagan-Ortiz was initially held without bail and appeared in court Friday, where Territorial Public Defender Julie Todman said he is challenging the warrant and has declined to waive extradition. Todman also said Pagan-Ortiz lives in Puerto Rico, was visiting the Virgin Islands, and believes the Pennsylvania warrant “is invalid,” according to the record of proceeding.
Magistrate Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull set bail at $250,000, and set a 30-day deadline for Pennsylvania authorities to extradite him.
VIPD mug shot of Fadzai Makonyonga, 38, of Texas.
The second arrest occurred on New Year’s Eve, when federal agents notified V.I. Police that a woman named Fadzai Makonyonga, 38, was in custody, after the agents discovered a warrant for her arrest issued by the state of Texas.
A judge in Farmers Branch, Texas issued the warrant on October 16, and Makonyonga is wanted for fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, in connection with an identity theft case.
According to Makonyonga’s arrest warrant affidavit, the case began when the victim contacted police in September and said they had learned there was a warrant for their arrest in Texas, but they had never been to that state.
Investigators determined that the victim’s driver’s license was presented to police during a traffic stop that occurred in Texas in July 2020, and the driver gave police a phone number that they traced back to Makonyonga, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also learned that the victim and Makonyonga had worked together in Massachusetts in 2019, and the victim “thought she lost her driver license” and never gave Makonyonga permission to possess or use her identification, according to the affidavit.
Makonyonga was initially held without bail, and she waived extradition at a court hearing held Monday. Judge Paula Norkaitis set bail at $10,000 and set another hearing for today, as police had difficulty contacting the state of Texas due to the holidays.