Aug 21

Registered sex offender wanted for violating probation discovered hiding beneath floor with secret trap door

DENMARK, Tenn. (WMC) - Deputies with the U.S. Marshals captured a fugitive wanted for violating probation Monday after he was discovered in a secret hideout beneath a Madison County trailer home.

The U.S. Marshals Service says that the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) issued a warrant for Billy Lee Walton Jr., 35, after he allegedly was caught drunk driving and possessing drugs in June. 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.

In September 2016, Walton was convicted of attempted rape in the Hardeman County Circuit Court. He was given a 12-year probation period and added to the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry.

The U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Jackson adopted the probation violation case. On Monday, the task force tracked Walton to the Jackson Mobile Village off Highway 70 in Denmark, Tennessee.

Deputy marshals and TDOC special agents found Walton hiding within a cut-out space in the floor, accessed by a trap door hidden by a rug.

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 and transported to the Madison County Jail.