Florida police arrested KaShawn Nicola Roper on Wednesday, a day after she was put on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly committing a 2020 murder in Missouri then fleeing.
Roper, 50, was arrested without incident in High Springs, outside of Gainesville, according to the FBI.
“I’m proud of the collaboration that made this arrest possible,” FBI Jacksonville special agent in charge Jason Carley said in a statement. “From the moment we received information that Roper may be in our area, we surged into action, working in lockstep with our law enforcement partners to quickly track, locate, and apprehend her.”
The FBI put Roper on their famous Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Tuesday, offering up to $1 million for information.
Alachua County jail records showed Roper remained in detention as of Thursday evening after being booked in around noon the previous day.
The FBI’s Jacksonville office was already pursuing a potential lead about her location when the reward announcement went public. “Credible tips” following to the announcement then led the High Springs Police Department to the fugitive, according to the FBI.
Roper is accused of firing multiple shots into a car in Kansas City, Missouri during an August 2020 argument, killing one passenger, Jazmyn Henrion, 23, and wounding another.
Roper was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon the following month. In 2021, federal officials charged her with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The Independent has contacted a Kansas City attorney who was listed as Roper’s lawyer in the state murder case for comment.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a press conference on Tuesday that the department had been pursuing Roper ever since the shooting.
“We have never forgotten,” Graves said.
Witnesses to the 2020 shooting told officials an unknown woman matching Roper’s description fired into the car in the middle of an argument.
One witness told police that the woman shot at the car because she believed its passengers were “mean mugging” her, according to an FBI affidavit.
Another told officers that the argument between Roper and the passengers took place as one of the passengers, whose name was redacted, was visiting a Kansas City address to buy marijuana. The witness said that during the argument, a male in the car threw an item resembling a bottle at Roper.
A third witness said the woman outside the threw a drink at the individuals in the car before firing.
Roper is believed to have spent time in Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, and Georgia while she was allegedly on the run, according to the FBI.
To protect the privacy of tipsters, the FBI does not name them or say if reward money has been paid.
