The Benton Harbor man who made it on to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list barely a month ago has been captured and arrested and is now in custody.
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Antwan Tamon Mims was arrested without incident yesterday, Tuesday, July 31, 2018, as a result of a well-coordinated fugitive investigation that spanned across federal, state, and local law enforcement, according to Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
Slater was joined by Director of the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety Daniel E. McGinnis, Jr.; Commander of the Michigan State Police, Fifth District, Captain Kyle Bowman; Berrien County Sheriff L. Paul Bailey; Berrien County Prosecutor Michael J. Sepic; U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew B. Birge; and Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Ricardo Grave de Peralta of the FBI Atlanta Field Office in announcing Mims arrest.
Mims was arrested shortly after 4:00 pm at a residence in College Park, Georgia, by FBI agents and FBI Atlanta Metro Major Offenders Task Force (AMMO). Mims was wanted for the March 25, 2018 murders of Cortez Lamont Miller and Michael Canthrell Johnson while they were attending a house party on Lavette Street in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
A state arrest warrant was obtained on March 27, 2018, charging Mims with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two felony weapons counts. On May 2, 2018, the Detroit FBI’s St. Joseph Resident Agency Safe Streets Task Force obtained a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The investigation into the murders of Miller and Johnson is being led by the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety and the Michigan State Police Major Crimes Unit; the FBI Benton Harbor Safe Streets Task Force assisted with the murder investigation and led the federal unlawful flight to avoid prosecution case regarding Mims.
The FBI Benton Harbor Safe Streets Task Force is composed of special agents and law enforcement officers of the FBI St. Joseph Resident Agency, Michigan State Police, Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety, Benton Township Police Department, St. Joseph Department of Public Safety, St. Joseph Township Police Department, Pokagon Tribal Police Department, South Haven Police Department, and Niles Police Department.
Slater says, “When a wanted felon like Mims is placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List, his world becomes smaller as that bright spotlight is shined upon him. Couple that with determined federal, state, and local investigators, his life on the run ends with him in handcuffs.” He adds, “We can only hope this arrest brings some level of closure to Cortez and Michael’s families.”
The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was established in March 1950. Mims was the 519th person to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the 486th captured, and the ninth Ten Most Wanted Fugitive arrested in the state of Georgia. Additional information concerning Mims and the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives can be found by visiting fbi.gov/wanted.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
