Walt Disney World Calls itself “the most magical place on Earth,” but a visiting fugitive must have felt cursed when his trip to the resort ended in a nightmare last month.
Quashon Burton, 31 years old, from New York He has been on the run since November 2021. U.S. Postal Service Inspectors officers attempted to arrest him for an alleged identity theft scheme used to steal approximately $150,000. federal la COVID loan, but he’s not at home in Brooklyn. Burton’s mother informed officers that her son “will not surrender,” federal court documents said.
Federal Postal Inspector Jeff Andre, who signed the lawsuit against Burton, wrote that Burton had built a “complex web of identities that made his crimes difficult to investigate”. “He has clearly demonstrated his ability to conceal his true identity to evade law enforcement. So he has also shown a willingness to lie about this identity to avoid arrest. “
Fast-forward to October 20 and Andre is on vacation at Disney World in Florida. At around 3:05 p.m. at the resort’s Animal Kingdom, Andre spotted Burton, recognizing the fugitive with a distinctive “H” tattoo on his neck.
Andre then informed the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that a fugitive was in the park. According to the sheriff’s office report, security personnel at the resort tracked down Burton before a deputy arrived to find him waiting at a bus stop outside Animal Kingdom with two members in the family.
“I advised Quashon that I needed to talk to him about possible suspicious activity he was involved in, and he questioned why he needed to provide his identification,” the newspaper said. the report of the deputy minister said. “I then advised him that he was the subject of a wanted warrant, and when I tried to hold him, he began to tense up and strain his arms. I have repeatedly informed him to put his hands behind his back, but he refused.”
The deputy minister said he eventually brought Burton “to the ground” during the arrest. They added that Burton was charged with resisting an officer without violence during the encounter. Federal documents also say that Burton visited the park under a false name and refused to acknowledge his true identity even though fingerprints proved he was Quashon Burton.
He was taken to the Orange County Jail before being handed over to federal custody.
On October 27, a detention hearing in Florida’s Middle County ruled that Burton could be released as long as he underwent pre-trial surveillance in New York and was subject to GPS monitoring. But New York federal prosecutors opposed the decision, calling Burton “an extremely high-risk flight” who should continue to be detained.
On Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan from the Southern District of New York ruled that Burton should not be released on pre-trial bail.
