America's Most Wanted Criminals: Where Are They Now?
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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild
Some were caught, some died, and others just ... disappeared. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we'll be looking at updates on the most well-known or notorious criminals who have appeared on the Most Wanted list, regardless of whether or not they've been captured. Our countdown includes criminals John Parsons, Víctor Manuel Gerena, Alton Coleman and more.
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’ll be looking at updates on the most well-known or notorious criminals who have appeared on the Most Wanted list, regardless of whether or not they've been captured. What do you make of these stories? Let us know in the comments below!
A Honduran man, Alexis Flores was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list in 2007. Seven years earlier, he was going by the name Carlos and befriended Jorge Contreras of Philadelphia. Contreras helped Carlos find work as a handyman. On August 3, 2000, the body of Iriana DeJesus was found with a bloody t-shirt nearby. Contreras recognized the shirt as one he had given to Carlos, but the handyman had already fled. Flores was arrested in 2002 for a separate crime and deported back to Honduras. His DNA was added to the national database and eventually linked to the unsolved murder of DeJesus. Unfortunately, Flores was already gone and has remained missing - and on the Most Wanted list - ever since.
After robbing a gas station and stealing a car, John Parsons was pursued by Ohio police officer Larry Cox. Tragically, Parsons shot and killed Cox during the chase, and he was arrested about two months later following an investigation. He was placed in the Ross County jail but escaped on July 29, 2006, earning him a spot on the FBI’s list. He was also featured three different times on “America’s Most Wanted” as he remained a fugitive. His third appearance occurred on September 30, 2006, and he was caught and arrested less than one month later. Parsons was sentenced to life in prison, and to this day remains inside the Toledo Correctional Institution.
On April 11, 2010, Víctor Manuel Gerena broke a record by holding the most time on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He was added nearly 26 years earlier on May 14, 1984, following another broken record. Gerena had taken part in the famous White Eagle bank robbery, which at the time was the largest cash heist in American history. It occurred on September 12, 1983, and saw a guerrilla group named Los Macheteros robbing a Connecticut Wells Fargo depot. They walked away with $7 million in cash, the modern equivalent of $21 million. Gerena supposedly fled to Cuba and was placed on the Most Wanted list, but to no avail. He was never caught and was removed from the list in 2016.
Going by the nickname Bucky, Ralph Phillips had a long history with the law and even became somewhat of a legend around the Western New York and Pennsylvania areas. T-shirts were made, and even a local burger was named after him. But the morbid fun stopped on June 10, 2006, when Phillips shot and seriously injured a State Trooper named Sean Brown. Two months later, he shot Troopers Donald Baker Jr. and Joseph Longobardo, with the latter eventually dying of his injuries. Phillips was added to the Most Wanted list on September 7, 2006, and captured just one day later. He pleaded, in his words, “guilty as hell” and was sentenced to life in prison. He is currently incarcerated in New York’s Upstate Correctional Facility.
When the aforementioned Víctor Manuel Gerena broke the record for the longest time on the Most Wanted list, he overtook Donald Eugene Webb. A career criminal, Webb shot and killed police chief Gregory Adams on December 4, 1980. An investigation traced the shooting to Webb and he was placed on the Most Wanted list on May 4, 1981. Webb became a national figure, appearing on both “Unsolved Mysteries” and “America's Most Wanted.” Unfortunately, the notoriety did not help, and Webb was removed from the list on March 31, 2007. Webb’s widow later came forth and confessed that she had been harboring Webb before he died in 1999. She led police to the buried remains, and they were positively identified as belonging to the uncaptured criminal.
Along with his accomplice Debra Brown, Alton Coleman committed a series of eight killings throughout the summer of 1984. The murders spanned six different states. Following the death of Tonnie Storey, the FBI made a special example out of Coleman and included him as the 11th Most Wanted criminal on the Top 10 list. This was only the tenth time in its history that an eleventh person had been included. Unfortunately, Coleman would go on to kill two more people before he was arrested on July 20, 1984. Coleman was sentenced to death and executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in 2002. Brown is currently serving life in the Dayton Correctional Institution.
Perhaps one of the most infamous terrorists in American history, Ramzi Yousef conducted a slew of crimes. He helped bomb Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing one and injuring ten. He planned the Bojinka plot, which looked to assassinate Pope John Paul II, blow up airplanes, and crash one into the CIA headquarters. But most famously, he conducted the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, which killed several and injured over 1,000. It was the latter that landed Yousef on the Most Wanted list, and he remained on it for over two years after fleeing to Pakistan. He was finally arrested in 1995 and extradited to the U.S., where he was given two life sentences. He is currently serving time in Colorado’s ADX Florence.
There are few crime bosses as notorious as Whitey Bulger. The leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, Bulger was eventually convicted of racketeering and murder, among others. But before that, he was the second most wanted person by the FBI, behind only Osama bin Laden. Bulger went into hiding in 1994 and was placed on the Most Wanted list on August 19, 1999. He was even featured on “America’s Most Wanted” sixteen times! Bulger remained free for the next twelve years, until a neighbor tipped off the authorities and revealed that he was living in Santa Monica. He was quickly arrested and given two life sentences before dying in 2018 at the age of 89.
This former Foreign Service officer has an odd distinction, and that’s that he was added to the Most Wanted list nearly forty years after committing his crime. Bishop killed his family - consisting of his wife, mother, and three sons - on the evening of March 1, 1976. His motive remains unknown, although he had recently been denied a promotion at work, leading some to suspect that the killings were stress-related. Either way, Bishop drove his deceased family nearly 300 miles to North Carolina and burned their bodies before going on the lam. Bishop wasn’t placed on the Most Wanted list until 2014 and remained on it for only four years before he was taken off in 2018. He would be 87 years old as of 2023.
It was 1:20 a.m. on July 27, 1996, when a bomb went off in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. Thanks to the quick work of security guard Richard Jewell, only one person died in the blast. Three more bombings followed, with Rudolph targeting two medical facilities and a lesbian bar. One more person, Birmingham police officer Robert Sanderson, was killed in these subsequent attacks. Witnesses helped identify a man named Eric Rudolph as the serial bomber, and he was placed on the Most Wanted list on May 5, 1998. He wasn’t caught until 2003 when a police officer found him looting through a dumpster in North Carolina. He was given life in prison and is incarcerated at ADX Florence with fellow terrorist Ramzi Yousef.
Alexis Flores
A Honduran man, Alexis Flores was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list in 2007. Seven years earlier, he was going by the name Carlos and befriended Jorge Contreras of Philadelphia. Contreras helped Carlos find work as a handyman. On August 3, 2000, the body of Iriana DeJesus was found with a bloody t-shirt nearby. Contreras recognized the shirt as one he had given to Carlos, but the handyman had already fled. Flores was arrested in 2002 for a separate crime and deported back to Honduras. His DNA was added to the national database and eventually linked to the unsolved murder of DeJesus. Unfortunately, Flores was already gone and has remained missing - and on the Most Wanted list - ever since.
John Parsons
After robbing a gas station and stealing a car, John Parsons was pursued by Ohio police officer Larry Cox. Tragically, Parsons shot and killed Cox during the chase, and he was arrested about two months later following an investigation. He was placed in the Ross County jail but escaped on July 29, 2006, earning him a spot on the FBI’s list. He was also featured three different times on “America’s Most Wanted” as he remained a fugitive. His third appearance occurred on September 30, 2006, and he was caught and arrested less than one month later. Parsons was sentenced to life in prison, and to this day remains inside the Toledo Correctional Institution.
Víctor Manuel Gerena
On April 11, 2010, Víctor Manuel Gerena broke a record by holding the most time on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He was added nearly 26 years earlier on May 14, 1984, following another broken record. Gerena had taken part in the famous White Eagle bank robbery, which at the time was the largest cash heist in American history. It occurred on September 12, 1983, and saw a guerrilla group named Los Macheteros robbing a Connecticut Wells Fargo depot. They walked away with $7 million in cash, the modern equivalent of $21 million. Gerena supposedly fled to Cuba and was placed on the Most Wanted list, but to no avail. He was never caught and was removed from the list in 2016.
Ralph “Bucky” Phillips
Going by the nickname Bucky, Ralph Phillips had a long history with the law and even became somewhat of a legend around the Western New York and Pennsylvania areas. T-shirts were made, and even a local burger was named after him. But the morbid fun stopped on June 10, 2006, when Phillips shot and seriously injured a State Trooper named Sean Brown. Two months later, he shot Troopers Donald Baker Jr. and Joseph Longobardo, with the latter eventually dying of his injuries. Phillips was added to the Most Wanted list on September 7, 2006, and captured just one day later. He pleaded, in his words, “guilty as hell” and was sentenced to life in prison. He is currently incarcerated in New York’s Upstate Correctional Facility.
Donald Eugene Webb
When the aforementioned Víctor Manuel Gerena broke the record for the longest time on the Most Wanted list, he overtook Donald Eugene Webb. A career criminal, Webb shot and killed police chief Gregory Adams on December 4, 1980. An investigation traced the shooting to Webb and he was placed on the Most Wanted list on May 4, 1981. Webb became a national figure, appearing on both “Unsolved Mysteries” and “America's Most Wanted.” Unfortunately, the notoriety did not help, and Webb was removed from the list on March 31, 2007. Webb’s widow later came forth and confessed that she had been harboring Webb before he died in 1999. She led police to the buried remains, and they were positively identified as belonging to the uncaptured criminal.
Alton Coleman
Along with his accomplice Debra Brown, Alton Coleman committed a series of eight killings throughout the summer of 1984. The murders spanned six different states. Following the death of Tonnie Storey, the FBI made a special example out of Coleman and included him as the 11th Most Wanted criminal on the Top 10 list. This was only the tenth time in its history that an eleventh person had been included. Unfortunately, Coleman would go on to kill two more people before he was arrested on July 20, 1984. Coleman was sentenced to death and executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in 2002. Brown is currently serving life in the Dayton Correctional Institution.
Ramzi Yousef
Perhaps one of the most infamous terrorists in American history, Ramzi Yousef conducted a slew of crimes. He helped bomb Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing one and injuring ten. He planned the Bojinka plot, which looked to assassinate Pope John Paul II, blow up airplanes, and crash one into the CIA headquarters. But most famously, he conducted the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, which killed several and injured over 1,000. It was the latter that landed Yousef on the Most Wanted list, and he remained on it for over two years after fleeing to Pakistan. He was finally arrested in 1995 and extradited to the U.S., where he was given two life sentences. He is currently serving time in Colorado’s ADX Florence.
James “Whitey” Bulger
There are few crime bosses as notorious as Whitey Bulger. The leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, Bulger was eventually convicted of racketeering and murder, among others. But before that, he was the second most wanted person by the FBI, behind only Osama bin Laden. Bulger went into hiding in 1994 and was placed on the Most Wanted list on August 19, 1999. He was even featured on “America’s Most Wanted” sixteen times! Bulger remained free for the next twelve years, until a neighbor tipped off the authorities and revealed that he was living in Santa Monica. He was quickly arrested and given two life sentences before dying in 2018 at the age of 89.
William Bradford Bishop, Jr.
This former Foreign Service officer has an odd distinction, and that’s that he was added to the Most Wanted list nearly forty years after committing his crime. Bishop killed his family - consisting of his wife, mother, and three sons - on the evening of March 1, 1976. His motive remains unknown, although he had recently been denied a promotion at work, leading some to suspect that the killings were stress-related. Either way, Bishop drove his deceased family nearly 300 miles to North Carolina and burned their bodies before going on the lam. Bishop wasn’t placed on the Most Wanted list until 2014 and remained on it for only four years before he was taken off in 2018. He would be 87 years old as of 2023.
Eric Rudolph
It was 1:20 a.m. on July 27, 1996, when a bomb went off in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. Thanks to the quick work of security guard Richard Jewell, only one person died in the blast. Three more bombings followed, with Rudolph targeting two medical facilities and a lesbian bar. One more person, Birmingham police officer Robert Sanderson, was killed in these subsequent attacks. Witnesses helped identify a man named Eric Rudolph as the serial bomber, and he was placed on the Most Wanted list on May 5, 1998. He wasn’t caught until 2003 when a police officer found him looting through a dumpster in North Carolina. He was given life in prison and is incarcerated at ADX Florence with fellow terrorist Ramzi Yousef.
