Fugitive Arrested at Tax Collector's Office

After an international chase that lasted 23 years and took federal officials to Mexico and Australia, a 61-year-old fugitive was taken down by an astute driver's license clerk at the Manatee County Tax Collector's Office.

Christine Marie Dickinson, allegedly part of a large drug ring, was on the lam for 23 years and wanted in a case that "reads like a Miami Vice episode," according to the U.S. Marshal who had been seaching for the fugitive for the past decade.

After being on the run for so many years, Dickinson apparently thought she was in the clear and tried to renew her driver license, which had expired decades earlier. According to the deputy who arrested Dickinson, she had good reason to think she would get through the process without raising suspicion.

"She was very well dressed and had her 80-plus-year-old mother with her," said Deputy Andrew Jacobus. "She had all of her paperwork in order."

But to the county worker responsible for gathering the papers and approving the license, something didn't seem right.

She wondered why Dickinson did not hold a driver license in decades and texted Jacobus's cell phone. She asked him to do a background check.

The driver license clerk did not want to be interviewed or identified for safety reasons. Ken Burton, Manatee County Tax Collector, said that everything worked exactly the way it should have, based on all of the fraud training his employees have been through, which includes running various scenarios with the employees.

"We have nothing but the highest praise for the Tax Collector's Office and the Manatee County Sheriff’s office," said Marty West, supervisor over the U.S. Marshal's Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in Tallahassee. He was assigned the fugitive case in 2003.

West said Dickinson was wanted as part of a violent and large narcotics trafficking group active in the 1980s. The group smuggled large shipments of illegal drugs from Jamaica to Florida.

He said that nearly two dozen people connected with the organized crime ring had been arrested and convicted. Dickinson was the only person from the group who had never been caught.

"She's the last fugitive in this case," West said.

Dickinson did not have violent criminal behavior in her background, but was wanted for possession and conspiracy to distribute marijuana, cocaine and hashish oil.

Before Jacobus approached Dickinson to arrest her at the driver license bureau, he called for backup. As soon as he approached her, he said, Dickinson realized she had been caught.

"She just hung her head," Jacobus said. He handcuffed her in the driver license office and then took her in the back. She was taken to the Manatee County Jail.

Once in the office, Dickinson tried to convince the deputy that the charges had been dismissed and even pulled out documents showing that the Drug Enforcement Agecy had closed an indictment against her. But the U.S. Marshal still had a superceding indictment against her.

West said it is "a little unusual" for a case this old to be solved. This case was definitely off the charts, he said. The Tax Collector's office did an absolute great job. Someone else might have issued her a license without asking any questions."

"I've probably arrested three or four fugitives in cases that were that old," he said. "After 23 years on the run, she thought she would get a valid ID. Imagine her surprise."

Early this year, Burton contacted Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube about permanently stationing a deputy at his busiest office, because of increased threats against employees and the office related to the requirements of the Federal Real ID Act and the new driver license responsibilities mandated by the State. The tax collector's office pays the deputy's salary to ensure that Jacobus is there daily.

All of the employees in the Tax Collector's Office have the ability to text messages directly to his cell phone, if they have any problems with a customer.

“We are fortunate to have a great deputy assigned to us,”  Burton said. 

Jacobus has assisted with 105 "irate or hostile customer issues so far this year," Burton added. His presence helps diffuse irate customers who do not want to comply with myriad federal and state laws under the new regulations related to Homeland Security.

Since the Deputy Program began in February, there have been 65 misdemeanor arrests, 37 felony arrests, 28 citations issued, 10 warnings issued and one stolen Mercedes recovered – all at the Tax Collector's office.

Other arrests include: an unregistered sexual predator from out-of-state attempting to obtain a Florida ID, customers driving on suspended or revoked licenses, customers with warrants, as well as arrests for title fraud and the presentation of counterfeit or fraudulent identity, driver license and immigration documents.