A local Florida police officer apprehended a man on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list during a routine traffic stop over the weekend, earning praise from the federal agency.
Sgt. Michelle Bilbrey arrested Donald Eugene Fields II, 60, around 9:15 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 27/441 and Rolling Acres Road in Lady Lake, the Lady Lake Police Department said in a news release.
Fields, who is facing federal charges of child sex trafficking and state charges of child rape, was apprehended after Bilbrey ran his vehicle’s license plate and discovered that it was not registered to the car he was driving, police said.
Lady Lake Police Chief Steve Hunt praised Bilbrey and the department for their vigilance and dedication to everyday policing.
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“Sometimes, an everyday traffic stop turns into a real game-changer. This is a reminder that every officer, every day, is out there making a real difference,” Hunt said. “Every traffic stop is an opportunity for justice. What starts as a routine encounter can quickly turn into a pivotal moment, where an officer’s sharp instincts and dedication to service lead to a significant arrest—keeping our community and in this case, the nation, safer.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson also commended the local officer and her police department.
“Thanks to proactive policing by the Lady Lake Police Department, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives has been captured,” Johnson said.
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Field was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 2023.
He has been a fugitive since March 2022 after failing to appear for a court hearing in Franklin County, Missouri, where he faces state charges that include statutory rape, statutory sodomy, child molestation and witness tampering, according to police and the FBI.
Fields was also federally indicted in St. Louis on Dec. 7, 2023, for attempting to recruit and exploit a minor for commercial sex acts between January 2013 and June 2017, authorities said.
Following his arrest, Fields will be scheduled to make his first court appearance in federal court in Florida.
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Lady Lake is about 52 miles northwest of Orlando and just east of The Villages.
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