Fugitive Eddie Smith
Caught in Costa Rica
Authorities in Costa
Rica apprehended Mobile,
Alabama, fugitive Edmond
H. "Eddie" Smith IV and
have him in custody.
The bearded, heavyset
outdoorsman was armed
with a loaded
.45-calibre handgun at
the time of his arrest
and was taken into
custody without
incident, Cochran said.
"We were able to give
them (Costa Rican
authorities) some
specific locations, and
they had located him and
had him under
surveillance, but we had
to work with several
different agencies to
determine the best
approach to get him back
in custody," Mobile
County Sheriff Sam
Cochran said.
Smith was arrested on an
immigration violation.
It's expected that he'll
be taken to Puerto Rico
within the next seven to
14 days.
The effort to locate and
arrest Smith was the
result of a joint effort
by the Sheriff's Office,
the U.S. Marshal's
Office, the Gulf Coast
Regional Fugitive Task
Force, the U.S. State
Department Diplomatic
Security Service and
Costa Rican authorities.
Upon his return, Smith
will face a host of
felony charges,
including escape, theft
and illegal use of a gun
during a June 2006
incident involving a
high-speed car chase.
Smith, the subject of a
two-day series published
late March, was in the
middle of a 90-day jail
sentence when he was
granted temporary
freedom in late May.
He was to seek medical
assistance for what was
described as a seriously
infected foot.
Smith was permitted to
travel to New Orleans
for treatment. However,
within a week of his
release, Smith had
disabled the monitoring
device that was placed
on him, and he ceased
contact with probation
officials, authorities
said. It was reported
that his mother, Linda
Diann Smith, was with
him.
In July, Linda Smith
returned to the area and
told sheriff's deputies
that she'd traveled with
her son to Costa Rica.
Earlier this month,
Eddie Smith called one
of Cochran's deputies
but used a cell phone
that made it impossible
to determine where he
was calling from,
Cochran said at the
time.
The newspaper stories
examined Smith's
extensive criminal
record; his run-ins with
fellow outdoorsmen; his
residence in the famous
Sonneborn home on Fowl
River; and hunting trips
he took in December and
January.
At the time of those
trips, he was supposed
to be confined to his
home after being found
guilty of a misdemeanor
charge of physically
harassing a female
employee at an area
Radio Shack store.
In late April, Mobile
County Circuit Judge
Charles Graddick ordered
Smith to serve 90 days
in Mobile County Metro
Jail for violating the
terms of his probation
by going on the hunting
trips. Smith was to
serve the remainder of
that sentence after
receiving treatment for
his foot.
In May, Lexington
Insurance Co. filed a
lawsuit in federal court
in Mobile, accusing
Smith of forging names
of bank officials on
checks totaling about
$800,000.
Smith has not responded
to the lawsuit.
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