Clayton traffic stop leads to conviction of international fugitive

HINESVILLE, Ga. - A Jamaican national wanted for murder in Saint Lucia was sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for possessing firearms while unlawfully present in the United States. Authorities tracked the international fugitive through Georgia after he used a fake name to slip past border officials.

What we know:

U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson sentenced 33-year-old Orville Andrew Pernell to 33 months of imprisonment on Wednesday. Pernell, a Jamaican national also known by the alias Oneil Christopher Reid, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 to possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

Federal agents captured Pernell on April 4, 2025, while executing a search warrant at his home in Hinesville. Inside the property, investigators discovered a stolen handgun and an assault rifle equipped with a loaded high-capacity magazine.

The backstory:

Pernell was originally charged with murder in Saint Lucia on Oct. 8, 2020. While awaiting trial, he escaped custody and fled to Jamaica, where local authorities arrested him on July 21, 2021. Pernell then escaped from Jamaican custody while awaiting extradition back to Saint Lucia.

Roughly 18 months later, American immigration authorities encountered Pernell at an unmanned area near the San Ysidro point of entry at the California-Mexico border. Using a false identity, Pernell was allowed into the country pending further immigration proceedings.

On July 21, 2023, Clayton County deputies pulled him over for driving 115 miles per hour on a motorcycle. When they searched Pernell, they found a stolen firearm in his jacket pocket. 

He was arrested for speeding, fleeing, driving without a license, and receiving stolen property, but posted bail and was released less than two months later. 

Authorities discovered Pernell was using an alias in 2025.

What they're saying:

"After he was charged with murder, Pernell escaped custody twice in the Caribbean, entered the United States under a different identity, and then repeatedly endangered our community through his possession of stolen and high-powered firearms," U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. While in federal custody awaiting his court date, Pernell repeatedly damaged cell walls at his pretrial detention facility in apparent escape attempts.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Todd of the ATF Atlanta office stated that the case highlights the critical role law enforcement plays in tracing weapons and disrupting trafficking networks. Steven N. Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations added that Pernell will be returned to face murder charges in Saint Lucia when his sentence concludes.

What we don't know:

Federal authorities have not released the name of the specific federal prison facility where Pernell will serve his 33-month sentence. It also remains unknown how long the formal administrative removal and international extradition protocols will take once his physical prison term concludes.