An attempted murder suspect with an outstanding warrant for repeatedly stabbing someone was found and arrested Thursday in Newberry.
Travis Jermal West, 26, was located and then arrested at a Newberry mobile home by the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to a press release. The warrant for West’s arrest was issued after police said he stabbed and took money from a victim on July 31 near the 200 block of Southwest Sixth Avenue in downtown Gainesville.
The victim told Gainesville Police that he was in the area to buy bootleg cigarettes, according to the release.
The task force that arrested West is composed of U.S. Marshals, detectives and investigators from local agencies, including GPD and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. The task force typically focuses on violent fugitives, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Bryon Carroll. For this case, Carroll said they combined their talents to find West in a group effort.
Task force members received information this week that West, who is known to officers as being violent, fled to Newberry in an attempt to hide from law enforcement following the incident. Carroll said as the information on West’s whereabouts developed, their attention shifted from Gainesville to Newberry.
Through the department’s investigations, task force members found West was staying at a mobile home located at 25309 NW Sixth Ave. in Newberry. Along with West, a woman and two children were inside the mobile home, according to the release.
Around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, task force members surrounded the mobile home and ordered those inside to come out. Carroll said West didn’t come outside right away.
It took about 10 minutes for West to finally exit the mobile home. Once he did exit, he complied with the officers without further incident.
The woman and two children were left unharmed.
After surrendering to the task force, West was arrested for his outstanding warrant, which included attempted murder and robbery with a deadly weapon. West was booked at Alachua County Jail around 7:30 a.m. His bail is currently set at $400,000.
West has a history of violent crime. In December 2006, he served about 11 months and in June 2008 he served about seven months — both for attempted robbery with a deadly weapon.
In June 2012, West was charged with cocaine possession and served about eight months in prison.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 9/5/2014 under the headline "Downtown stabbing suspect arrested in Newberry by US marshals"]
