ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A Maryland man accused of attempted murder who had been on the run since 2012 was arrested in St. Johns County on Thursday.
Ryan Watson, 30, was wanted on charges of first degree attempted murder, second degree attempted murder, armed robbery, robbery, various assault charges, theft and reckless endangerment with weapon charges stemming from an incident that happened in Anne Arudel County in Maryland.
Watson had been previously featured on the show “Live PD”.
Both the US Marshals and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputies received tips that Watson was living in St. Augustine under the alias “Sean Riley.”
On Thursday, investigators went to a home where they believed he would be and launched a drone above to check it out. After Watson came outside to see what was going on, he was detained, the Sheriff’s Office said.
When asked his name, he first provided his alias, but after being called “Ryan”, he said “Ok, you got me,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“He is a violent felon with a victim in Maryland who is looking for justice and we’re happy to be a small part in theta wheel. Obviously the prosecution and case building is all on Maryland, but we’re happy to be one of the cogs in the wheel,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chuck Mulligan.
A woman who was at the home when Watson was captured says everyone knew him as Sean Riley. She had no idea that wasn’t his real name and she was mortified when she learned why he was arrested at gunpoint by deputies and federal marshals.
“I literally burst into tears,” said the woman. “It’s a huge shock to find out somebody you trust and somebody that you were close with tried to murder somebody.”
According to an arrest warrant, that somebody was a man who Maryland investigators say was viciously beaten with a hammer while being robbed by Watson. The victim suffered fractured ribs and a fractured spine. He also needed more than 20 staples in his head to close serious wounds. Although there is no proof Watson has committed similar crimes in St. Augustine, deputies want to be certain before Watson is extradited back to Maryland.
“Given the circumstances up in Maryland and the number of cases and the violent cases of some of those cases, if someone has had a conflict with him here or believes he was involved in something, we would like to hear from them,” Mulligan said.
Watson was arrested and booked into the St. Johns County jail on Maryland’s authorization to hold for extradition. He’s being held on no bond.