An inmate who had already escaped from authorities once is on the run again after he was given a leave of absence from a federal penitentiary to attend a funeral in the District. U.S. marshals say Theodore Dewayne Riley failed to report to officials in D.C., and never returned to the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis, Tenn. A warrant for him was issued Dec. 1. He had been serving a three-year sentence for felony possession of a firearm for an incident that occurred in the District in 2008.
It's not the first time that Riley has escaped from custody, marshals said. He pulled a similar move back in 2000 when he failed to report to a community care facility in D.C. while serving time for a 1999 aggravated assault conviction, said Marshals Deputy Tony Gause.
Now, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force are looking for the 30-year-old Riley again.
"With a long history of violence, Riley is obviously a threat to the community and is to be considered armed and dangerous," Gause said. "We need the community's assistance in locating him before he puts other innocent people in harm's way."
Riley has other arrests for gun and drug charges and for destruction of property.
He is described as a black male with dark complexion, standing 5-feet 9-inches tall and weighing 155 pounds. He is known to hang out in Northwest Washington in the Sursum Corda complex at First and M streets, and has relatives in Southeast D.C.
Anyone with information regarding Riley's whereabouts is urged to call Gause at 202-427-0183 or the U.S. Marshals Service at 301-489-1717 or 800-336-0102.
Tips from readers of The Washington Examiner have led directly to 24 fugitives since 2008. Marshals wants to make Riley the 25th.
The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, is composed of 30 federal, state and local agencies from Baltimore to Norfolk. The unit has captured more than 33,000 wanted fugitives since its creation in 2004.