Jamaican fugitive wanted for murder in Saint Lucia jailed in US
Orville Andrew Pernell, 33, a Jamaican national who escaped custody in Saint Lucia where he was wanted for murder, was sentenced to federal prison in the United States on Tuesday. He was convicted of possessing a firearm while being in the country illegally. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson gave Pernell a 33-month prison sentence. After […] The article Jamaican fugitive wanted for murder in Saint Lucia jailed in US is from St. Lucia Times.
Black News 
Orville Andrew Pernell, 33, a Jamaican national who escaped custody in Saint Lucia where he was wanted for murder, was sentenced to federal prison in the United States on Tuesday.
He was convicted of possessing a firearm while being in the country illegally. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson gave Pernell a 33-month prison sentence.
After he completes his sentence, Pernell is expected to face extradition to Saint Lucia.
In a statement dated May 19, US Attorney Theodore S. Hertberg said: “After he was charged with murder, Pernell escaped custody twice in the Caribbean, entered the United States under a different identity, and then repeatedly endangered our community through his possession of stolen and high-powered firearms.”
Just over a year ago, on April 17, 2025, St. Lucia Times reported that local law enforcement was working with US authorities to extradite the Jamaican national wanted for murder in Saint Lucia.
At that time, Pernell had been arrested in Savannah, Georgia, by ICE Homeland Security investigators and ATF special agents.
On December 1, 2021, while waiting to be extradited to Saint Lucia from Jamaica, Pernell escaped from the Central Police lock-up. He had been accused of killing Cleus Alfred of Trouya, Gros Islet. Alfred’s body was found on August 25, 2020, after residents heard gunshots. Pernell was charged with the crime on October 8, 2020.
Pernell was first held at the Babonneau Police Station. He allegedly used a sharp tool to cut through steel bars and escaped from a cell with three other detainees. After fleeing to Jamaica, he was caught again on July 14, 2021, by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Fugitive Apprehension Team, but escaped again a few months later.
US Border Patrol first encountered Pernell on December 7, 2022, near San Ysidro, California, when he tried to enter the country using the name “Oneil Christopher Reid.” He was allowed into the United States while immigration proceedings continued.
Pernell was released on parole but was arrested again in July 2023 for having a stolen motorcycle, a stolen 9mm handgun, and for evading police.
He was charged with speeding, fleeing, driving without a licence, and receiving stolen property. He posted bail and was released from custody in less than two months.
He was arrested again on April 4, 2025. At the same time, agents searched his home in Hinesville, Georgia, and found another stolen handgun and an assault rifle with a loaded high-capacity magazine.
On February 11, 2026, Pernell pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as an illegal alien.
US authorities said that while in federal custody, Pernell repeatedly damaged the walls of his cell at a pretrial detention facility, apparently trying to escape.
On Tuesday, May 19, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Todd of the ATF Atlanta division said, “This case highlights ATF’s critical role in tracing illegal firearms, disrupting trafficking networks, and ensuring dangerous offenders are removed from our communities. “
“No one who flees justice abroad and threatens public safety in the United States will escape accountability,” added Steven N. Schrank, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama.
“Through the coordinated efforts of HSI and our partners, Pernell has been apprehended, convicted, and when his sentence concludes, will be returned to face murder charges in Saint Lucia.”
The article Jamaican fugitive wanted for murder in Saint Lucia jailed in US is from St. Lucia Times.
