---
title: "US Marine wanted for murder captured days after being placed on FBI’s Most Wanted list"
description: "A Marine deserter has been captured in Virginia after being on the run for nearly three weeks from charges he murdered his mother's boyfriend."
date: "2019-11-27"
modified: "2019-11-27"
authors:
  - name: "Paul Szoldra"
    job_title: "Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/paul-szoldra/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/michael-brown-capture/"
categories:
  - "Around the World"
  - "Marine Corps"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "United States"
tags:
  - "justice"
  - "murder"
---

# US Marine wanted for murder captured days after being placed on FBI’s Most Wanted list

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/22107848-1.png>)

A U.S. Marine deserter suspected of allegedly killing his mother's boyfriend has been captured in Virginia, CNN [reports](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/us/marine-deserter-captured-virginia/index.html>).

Michael Alexander Brown, 22, was arrested on Wednesday in Franklin County, Va., Capt. Phillip Young of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office told CNN. Young did not immediately respond to a phone call from Task & Purpose.

In a [tweet](<https://twitter.com/USMarshalsHQ/status/1199713212209516550>), the U.S. Marshals Service said Brown had been taken into custody "without incident." More details of the arrest will be shared in a press conference on Wednesday, the service said.

A manhunt began for Brown after police responded to a shooting call on Nov. 9, [according](<https://www.franklincountysheriffsoffice.org/pdfs/News_Release-_Brown_Homicide_Update_11-11-19_c2bb5.pdf>) to the Sheriff's Office. Officers responded to a home in Hardy, Va., in which the homeowner, Rodney Brown, 54, was found deceased. Authorities determined Michael Brown was a "person of interest" in the case, though he was suspected of fleeing the state.

A Marine corporal, Brown failed to report for duty at Camp Lejeune, N.C. on Oct. 24, where he was assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, [according](<https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/11/25/manhunt-continues-for-marine-deserter-wanted-in-murder-facebook-group-supporting-him-hits-1000-members/>) to Marine Corps Times. He was marked absent without leave and then recategorized as a deserter after being suspected of murder.

Brown had been [placed](<https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/michael-alexander-brown/@@download.pdf>) on the FBI's Most Wanted list on Monday.

## Author
Paul Szoldra was the Editor in Chief of Task & Purpose from October 2018 until August 2022. Since joining T&P, he has led a talented team of writers, editors, and creators who produce military journalism reaching millions of readers each month. He also founded and edits [Duffel Blog](<https://www.duffelblog.com/>), a popular satirical newsletter for the military. Before becoming a journalist in 2013, he served as a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, Korea, and other areas of the Pacific. His eyes still go up every time a helicopter from Camp Pendleton flies over his office in Southern California.

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