CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A fugitive from justice who was captured in the United States after committing murder in Jamaica will serve almost three years in federal prison before being taken back to Jamaica.
Channel 2 Action News previously reported how Orville Andrew Pernell, in the U.S. without legal authorization, was accused of murder in Jamaica in 2020.
“After he was charged with murder, Pernell escaped custody twice in the Caribbean, entered the United States under a different identity, and then repeatedly endangered our community through his possession of stolen and high-powered firearms,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
The U.S. Department of Justice said he escaped custody while awaiting trial in 2021, was recaptured, then escaped again.
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Pernell was captured in the U.S. near San Ysidro’s point of entry at the California-Mexico border, falsely identifying himself as “Oneil Christopher Reid,” according to USDOJ.
In 2023, Pernell was found in Clayton County, Georgia, and arrested for speeding at more than 100 miles per hour with a stolen gun in his jacket, but he posted bail and was released from custody.
Pernell was captured again in April 2025 when federal agents searched his home in Hinesville, Georgia, finding stolen weapons.
Pernell pled guilty in February for possessing a firearm as an illegal alien. USDOJ said that while in federal custody, Pernell repeatedly damaged the walls of his cell at the pretrial detention center while trying to escape.
Now he’ll serve 33 months in federal prison before extradition to Jamaica.
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