U.S. Marshals Capture Fugitive Hiding Inside Floor with Trap Door

Denmark, TN – U.S. Marshals captured Billy Lee Walton, Jr., 35, hiding inside the floor of a trailer accessed by a trap door. Walton was wanted by the Tennessee Department of Correction for violation of probation.

In September 2016, Walton was convicted of attempted rape in the Circuit Court of Hardeman County, TN. The Court suspended his sentence, and he was placed on probation for 12 years.

On June 13, 2024, the Tennessee Highway Patrol charged Walton with reckless driving, open container law, driving under the influence, driving on revoked/suspended license, and manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance, all of which occurred in Madison County, TN.

A probation violation warrant was issued by the Court, and the case was adopted by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Jackson. On August 19th, the task force tracked Walton to the Jackson Mobile Village off Highway 70 in Denmark, TN. Deputy marshals and TDOC special agents searched the trailer. Underneath a rug, they found Walton hiding inside a cut-out space in the floor, accessed by a trap door.

U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller said, “Someone created a pretty good hiding spot, but it wasn’t good enough to outsmart the U.S. Marshals Service.” Walton was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Madison County Jail.

The U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency task force within Western Tennessee. The TRVFTF has offices in Memphis and Jackson, and its membership is primarily composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton County Sheriff’s Deputies, Memphis and Jackson Police Officers, the Tennessee Department of Correction Special Agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Since 2021, the TRVFTF has captured over 2,600 violent offenders and sexual predators.