Miami-Dade fugitive killer found in Georgia politician’s home while on lam, police say
James Edward Daniels, the convicted killer and kidnapper wrongly freed from a Miami-Dade jail over the weekend, was caught by law enforcement in Georgia on Wednesday night after spending four days on the lam, officials said.
And Georgia police say he had help evading capture by a local city councilwoman born in Miami — who is now behind bars, too.
Daniels, 60, was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service near Macon, Georgia, on Wednesday, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced. A reward of up to $30,000 was being offered for any information that led to his arrest.
MDSO officials did not say when Daniels will be taken back to South Florida.
Daniels was erroneously released from the custody of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department on Saturday afternoon after a “procedural error,” the department said. He had been there for three days. The Corrections Department said it opened an investigation “to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and any potential failures to follow departmental policy.”
Georgia official with Miami ties arrested
Per police in Reynolds, Georgia, about 30 miles northeast of Macon, city councilwoman Timishea Price was in contact with Daniels while he was in the state. She has been arrested on a felony charge of hindering the apprehension of a criminal, the Reynolds Police Deprtment said on its Facebook page. Reynolds police said Thursday she may face additional charges pending the department’s investigation.
Agents from the Marshals Service called Reynolds police Wednesday about Daniels’ possible location at Price’s home, Reynolds police told the Herald.
The federal agents and Reynolds officers went to Price’s house on Mimms Street in the city around 4 p.m. and asked her if Daniels was inside.
“No,” she replied, Reynolds Police Chief Lonnie J. Holder said in a statement.
However, Price, 42, consented to a search of her home by the Marshals Service, whose agents found Daniels inside, Holder said. The federal agents arrested Daniels; Reynolds officers arrested Price.
Price has since been released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond, Holder said. She could not immediately be reached for comment, and information on her legal representation was not immediately available.
Price took office in 2022 and was born in Miami, she said in an interview with the Lupus Foundation of America.
READ MORE: Safeguard was in place to keep killer in Miami-Dade jail, feds say. Why was he freed?
Federal convictions
Daniels was found guilty in Miami federal court of kidnapping resulting in death of Osmar Oliva and Juan Gonzalez, stemming from an incident in an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020. He and two other men killed Oliva and Gonzalez. Daniels was also convicted of kidnapping Julio Verdecia, who survived a gunshot wound to the head.
He was sentenced to four life sentences in March. He was in federal custody until Sept. 24, when he was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade to close a 2021 state drug case that had been put on hold amid the federal case.
The U.S. Marshals Service, the agency responsible for transporting Daniels between the federal and state facilities, had placed a federal detainer on him. That designation flagged jail and court personnel that Daniels must remain in the Miami-Dade jail and not be released, the agency said.
READ MORE: Cops seek killers who kidnapped, tortured and executed two truckers in Opa-locka
On Sept. 25, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez convicted Daniels on drug charges and credited him with time served, foregoing any prison time due to him already serving a life sentence.
A fiasco ensued when court and jail records show Daniels was released Saturday because of Hernandez’s sentencing, despite the federal detainer, which should have returned him to the custody of the Marshals Service.
It’s not yet clear who’s responsible for missing, ignoring or putting aside the federal detainer.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 9:43 PM.
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)