Former neo-Nazi leader William A. White was arrested by U.S. and Mexican authorities in Mexico on Friday afternoon after nearly a month on the lam, officials said.
White, 35, was wanted on a federal warrant for violating his supervised release after serving 2½ years in prison for making threats.
The fugitive was arrested in the resort town of Playa del Carmen about 3 p.m., said U.S. Marshals Service Chief Deputy Brad Sellers.
Sellers said in a news release that White "had apparently fled the country" after the May 11 warrant was issued for him.
Reached by phone Friday, Sellers declined to specify how investigators tracked White to Mexico.
"We were able to develop some information that put him down in that area through good investigative work," Sellers said.
White will be extradited from Mexico and returned to Roanoke, Sellers said, though he wasn't sure how long that process would take. White could face new prison time for violating the terms of his release, or a judge could extend the time he must serve under supervised release.
Sellers said White may face additional charges after officials investigate the details of his time on the run.
A federal jury in Roanoke convicted White in December 2009 of three counts of transmitting threats and one count of obstruction of justice after he threatened victims by phone, Internet postings and the mail. The federal judge in the case later threw out one of the threat convictions.
After his release from prison in April 2011, White lived with his parents in Maryland before moving to Rockbridge County. The marshals service said White had also lived in Lynchburg.
In May, White left his home in Rockbridge County without the permission of his probation officer, the U.S. Marshals Service has said.
He had been scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on May 14 for resentencing after an appeals court ruled that the judge in his case did not properly follow sentencing guidelines.
The hearing was canceled with no explanation listed in court records. Later in the week, a probation officer stopped by White's home and found that he had left.
White's arrest Friday came through cooperation from the U.S. Marshals Service, state and local task force officers, and Mexican law enforcement officials, Sellers said.
"This arrest illustrates the cooperation between law enforcement agencies both in our state and internationally," Sellers said. "Fugitives can continue to run; however, the pursuit of justice will not be swayed by the distance they travel."
