U.S. Marshals Task Force Arrests Fugitive "Golf Pro" On the Run for 28 Years

Los Angeles, CA - Joe Davies had no idea the life he enjoyed as a semi-pro golfer in California was going to change due to small talk between two law enforcement officers attending a professional conference in August more than 2,000 miles away. But one of those officers left that conference with a hunch that would soon expose who Joe Davies really wasa fugitive by the name of Jerome Wedge who had been on the run for 28 years. In 1978, Jerome Wedge was a fishing boat captain who was arrested along with three other crew members for attempting to smuggle more than 40,000 pounds of marijuana into New Bedford, Massachusetts. During the trial, Wedge jumped bond before the verdict was read and became a fugitive never to be seen again. That changed on September 22, when he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals-led Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. "This case is a stellar example that no matter how long a person is on the run, justice will eventually win the race," said Chief John Clark, commander of the U.S. Marshals-led Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. The race for justice began when Trooper Collette Tamulevis of the Massachusetts State Police returned home from the August conference and started thinking about the Wedge case. Trooper Tamulevis put together as much information as she could about the old case and decided to contact an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) with whom she spoke with at the conference. The officer, Tony Egenias, was the LAPD representative on the Task Force. Officer Egenias was provided with the names "Frank Buono" and "Davies" as possible names the fugitive was now using. Egenias went to work utilizing all the resources of the LAPD and the Marshals Task Force and discovered a "Joe Davies" living in a rural horse-property area of Los Angeles. Egenias could not obtain a photograph of Davies or any of the other usual documents such as a California driver's license, work history or other personal financial history. What Egenias did have was the basic physical description of the fugitive Wedge that included information about two unique tattoos on his arms. Officer Egenias developed information that confirmed that a man matching Wedge's description lived in the area. He also learned that Wedge was living as a semi- professional golfer and was away at a tournament. During the early morning hours of September 22, Officer Egenias and the task force developed further information that Wedge had returned to his home. When confronted while watering his lawn, Wedge initially claimed to be Joe Davies, but when confronted with information about his tattoos, Wedge admitted his real identity and indicated that he knew he would be caught eventually. Wedge is being held in the Los Angeles County jail and faced a bail and extradition hearing Monday, Oct. 2.