Last year, two Columbus State University students, Randy Newton Jr. and Bryan Kilgore, were shot and killed in the parking lot of the Cross Creek Apartments near campus. Their killer, Michael Jason Registe, fled the country and avoided arrest for a year, landing himself on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list in the process.

Thanks to the television show “America’s Most Wanted” and numerous viewer-submitted tips, however, the 25-year-old gunman was finally caught in St. Maarten yesterday.

According to the FBI press release:

Numerous tips were received by the FBI after the airing of an America's Most Wanted television segment featuring Registe. That ultimately led local St. Maarten authorities to the Belvedere section of Dutch St. Maarten where Registe was arrested at approximately 11:10 this morning, August 27, 2008, while at a guest house. SWAT entry was made and Registe was taken into custody without further incident.

 

Registe will now face extradition hearings at St. Maarten for his removal back to Columbus, Georgia. This process could take from two weeks to several months.

 

The public is reminded that all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Innocent until proven guilty?

Right – fleeing the county for a year sure suggests he is innocent.

For the sake of all those involved, it’s time to end this saga and give the families of Bryan and Randy some sense of closure.