Man thought to be escapee is caught in St. Petersburg
Man held on escape charges
By Times staff writers
Published September 17, 2004
TAMPA - A man thought to be a fugitive who fled from a federal prison in Pensacola 15 years ago was arrested on escape charges Wednesday in St. Petersburg by the U.S. Marshal's Office.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Lisa Alfonso said Robbie Ray Lovan, 48, has been sought by federal authorities since he escaped from the federal minimum security prison at Eglin Air Force Base in Pensacola on Aug. 18, 1989, where he was serving a 97-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilos of marijuana.
Alfonso said she began working on the case about three months ago and learned Lovan's fingerprints matched those of a man identified as Bobby Miller, who was arrested in 2001 by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office on charges of driving under the influence and smuggling contraband into a detention facility.
She said she went to Inverness and questioned people who knew the man, and traced him to St. Petersburg, his hometown, where he was going by the name "R.J." Unsure of where he lived, officers began watching the homes of people connected to Lovan, she said.
Alfonso said she and others were preparing to conduct surveillance Wednesday at 4721 Second Ave. N in St. Petersburg when they saw someone who looked like Lovan. "He pulled up in front of us in a small red pickup truck," she said.
They watched as the man set about fixing a friend's lawn mower, she said, and once they were confident it was Lovan, they approached.
"He stood absolutely frozen, and you could tell he was shocked," she said. Lovan had been working as a handyman, she said, and had acquired a Social Security card in the name of Bobby Miller, along with a Florida identification card, scuba diving certification and other documents.
"He's been on the run for 15 years," she said.
Lovan was arrested without incident and was being held without bail in the Hillsborough County Jail. He will be sent back to Pensacola, where the 1988 drug case originated, to face escape charges, Alfonso said.
