U.S. Marshals say a Tuesday morning knock at a Maryville apartment on Wales Avenue ended with a 22-year-old fugitive from Oklahoma in custody. According to the agency, the man fled Tulsa after a March 24 incident and was taken to the Blount County jail to await extradition. Authorities added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on him.
The Marshals identified the suspect as 22-year-old Carlos Rodriguez, who is wanted in Tulsa on one count of assault and battery by strangulation, two counts of domestic assault, and one count of first‑degree burglary tied to the March 24 incident, according to WIVK. Officials also said Rodriguez had active arrest warrants out of Maryville for an unrelated domestic-abuse charge.
According to WATE, the U.S. Marshals Service's Knoxville office received a tip on May 4 from the Northern District of Oklahoma that the fugitive might be in East Tennessee. Members of the Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force and deputy U.S. marshals tracked Rodriguez down early May 5 and took him into custody without incident.
Held in Blount County while extradition is arranged
Rodriguez was booked into the Blount County Adult Detention Center while extradition paperwork is processed. The Blount County Sheriff's Office lists the detention center at 920 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville (Blount County Sheriff's Office). Marshals told media that ICE has placed a hold because Rodriguez is believed to be in the country unlawfully, according to WIVK. Local and federal agencies will coordinate his transfer once the legal steps are complete.
Task-force partnerships in East Tennessee
The Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force pairs deputy marshals with county officers to track fugitives across jurisdictional lines, a partnership model that has led to several arrests in the Knoxville region this year. Local reporting has highlighted similar joint operations, showing how federal and county agencies share resources to locate suspects, according to WVLT.
Legal next steps
Rodriguez faces multiple felony counts in Oklahoma, along with local warrants in Maryville. The Marshals say the Oklahoma charges include strangulation and first‑degree burglary. Extradition is an administrative process, and once Oklahoma's paperwork is filed and approved, the Marshals will transfer custody so prosecutors in Tulsa can pursue the case, per WATE.
