TENNESSEE — A Florida man wanted on multiple drug and firearm charges for more than a decade has been arrested in Tennessee, bringing a 15-year manhunt to an end, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Authorities said 69-year-old Perry Hand was taken into custody Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Linden.
Hand had been wanted since 2011 after failing to appear in Bay County Circuit Court on several felony charges, officials said.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, the charges include possession of a firearm by a violent career criminal, two counts of sale of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, sale of marijuana and trafficking hydrocodone.
Investigators said the Bay County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force after Hand fled Florida and remained at large for years.
Authorities recently developed information indicating Hand had relocated to Tennessee. Deputies tracked him to the Drop Anchor RV Park in Linden, where he had reportedly been living.
Officials said Hand was arrested without incident and booked into the Perry County Jail. He is expected to be returned to Florida to face the outstanding charges.
U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller of the Western District of Tennessee said the arrest demonstrates the continued cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies across state lines.
