U.S. Marshals Capture Indiana Murder Fugitive in West Tennessee

Ripley, TN – An Indiana murder fugitive, Ronald Watson, age 29, was captured today by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in Ripley, Tennessee.

On July 4, 2024, Joseph Bonds was found shot at a residence in the 7300 block of Whitcomb Street in Merrillville, Indiana resulting in Bonds’ July 9 death. Two days later, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Ronald Watson.

The case was adopted for investigation by the USMS Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in Indiana. Investigators with the Great Lakes Task Force were able to develop information that Watson was in the West Tennessee area. The USMS Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Memphis was contacted to further investigate.

On November 21, 2024, the Two Rivers Task Force went to a residence in the 100 block of Willow Creek Cove in Ripley. Watson was located and taken into custody without incident. He is awaiting extradition back to Indiana.

The U.S. Marshals Service Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force (TRVFTF) 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, Tipton, and Gibson County Sheriff’s Deputies, Memphis and Jackson Police Officers, Tennessee Department of Correction Special Agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Since 2021, the TRVFTF has captured approximately 3,000 violent offenders and sexual predators.