Fugitive on run for year caught after vacationing officer spots him at Disney World

(NEXSTAR) – A New York City man on the run from authorities for almost a year is in custody after a spectacularly ill-timed trip to the “most magical place on Earth,” authorities say.

The man’s vacation ended abruptly after federal postal inspector Jeff Andre, who was also at Disney World, noticed a distinctive “H” tattooed on the parkgoer’s neck, according to a criminal complaint obtained by several media outlets.

Andre recognized Quashon Burton, of New York City, because he had signed a complaint against the 31 year-old in November 2021, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service tried to arrest Burton for allegedly stealing the identities of four people to siphon $150,000 in COVID-19 loans from the government.

After officers failed to arrest him at his Brooklyn home, his mother told them he had no plans of turning himself in, according to the Daily Beast.

“He has clearly demonstrated an ability to mask his true identity to evade law enforcement,” prosecutors noted in the complaint. “So too has he demonstrated a willingness to lie about this identity to avoid arrest.”

Months passed without an arrest and then, on Oct. 20, a Disney vacation brought them together, according to court documents. After noticing the cursive “H” on Burton’s neck, Andre alerted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Disney World security pursued Burton, who left the theme park, and Orange County deputies ultimately arrested him at a bus stop outside of the Animal Kingdom, according to the sheriff’s office. Burton reportedly refused to give officers his ID and a deputy took him to the ground before arresting him.

Despite a Florida judge’s Oct. 27 ruling that Burton could be released with electronic monitoring, a judge from New York’s Southern District ruled Thursday that he should be held without bail, agreeing with prosecutors who called him “an extreme flight risk.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Office of Public Affairs told Nexstar on Friday it was “not able to provide any additional information” on the Burton case at this time, saying “it has not been fully adjudicated.”