TN’s Most Wanted: 9 escapees, accused murderers still on the run
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Tennessee manhunt made national headlines last month after a serial rape suspect reportedly escaped from custody.
However, the hunt for Sean Christopher Williams isn’t over. Almost a full month later, investigators are still trying to find Williams, who is facing nearly two dozen charges related to alleged child sex crimes.
Escapee Sean Williams removed restraints, reward offered
As the search continues, Williams has been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list. Launched in 1993, there have been more than 500 fugitives apprehended since the inception of the TBI’s Most Wanted program.
Currently, the agency has nine fugitives, including Williams, on the list. The cases range from as early as last month to a little more than two decades ago, when a man serving time for kidnapping and robbery reportedly escaped from the Tennessee State Prison.
Some suspects likely have fled the country, but, according to the TBI, many still have ties to Tennessee. Those listed all have one thing in common in that each individual is accused of either a “violent felony” or major drug trafficking crime.
See Nashville’s ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ fugitives: Week of Nov. 8
The TBI considers these individuals as armed and dangerous and advises that they should only be approached with extreme caution. In many cases, tipsters can earn high-dollar rewards for information leading to an arrest.
Below is a list of Tennessee’s Most Wanted fugitives as of Nov. 14, 2023. Anyone with any information on any of their whereabouts is asked to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or write to TipsToTBI@tbi.tn.gov.
Sean Christopher Williams
Sean Williams, a former Johnson City businessman facing several felony charges including child rape and drug offenses, escaped police custody in Greene County on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Williams was being taken to Greene County from Laurel County, Kentucky, where he was being held for two counts of rape of a child, 16 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of aggravated sexual battery to a child under 13.
SEE ALSO: Who is escaped federal detainee Sean Williams?
David Jolley, the head U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee told News 2’s affiliate WJHL that a back window was kicked out of the van in which two Laurel County Jail transport officers were transporting Williams and another inmate.
Jolley said Williams was restrained during transport but “managed to remove his restraints.” He was last seen in the Summer Street area of Greeneville. According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Williams’ head was shaven, and he was wearing “jail-type” clothes at the time.
Williams is about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs around 170 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes. The TBI is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his capture.
Cadayreis Myquon Futrell
Cadayreis Futrell is wanted by the Whiteville Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for first-degree murder. The charge is related to the September 4 shooting death of Markuvious Green, according to News 2’s affiliate WREG.
Over 70 of Nashville’s ‘Most Wanted’ fugitives arrested within one year
Police reportedly found Green unresponsive after he was shot in the 400 block of Webb Street in Whiteville. During the investigation, officials said they determined that Futrell and three other suspects were responsible for Green’s death.
The other suspects in the case were arrested between Sept. 7 and Sept. 18. Futrell is described as a 6-foot-tall black male weighing around 135 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
Juan Francisco
Juan Francisco was added to the TBI’s Most Wanted list on May 9, 2019. He is wanted by the TBI and Knoxville Police Department for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.
He is about 5-feet, 9-inches tall, weighs around 200 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Francisco was 54 years old at the time of the alleged crime. The TBI is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest.
Edgar Omar Torres-Rangel
Edgar Omar Torres-Rangel has reportedly been on the run for close to five years. He was added to the TBI’s Most Wanted list on Nov. 20, 2018, after being charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an incident out of Bedford County.
Months-long search for Nashville murder suspect ends in arrest
He is about 5-feet, 6-inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. Torres-Rangel was 28 years old when he was added to the list. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to his capture.
Lorenzo Barr Kamanda
On October 2, 2016, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a long-term care facility after learning of allegations that then-36-year-old Lorenzo Kamanda had raped a mentally incapacitated patient.
Evidence was developed and the TBI said a warrant was issued for Kamanda’s arrest. At the time, he was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). After several months spent searching for his whereabouts, Kamanda was added to the Most Wanted list on March 28, 2017.
RELATED: Tennessee man added to Most Wanted list for nursing home rape
According to the TBI, Kamanda is of Nigerian descent and has a thick accent. He is about 5 feet tall, weighs around 140 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. He was last known to live in Johnson City, Tennessee.
A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
Bounthavy Mickey Mouthouta
Bounthavy Mouthouta was added to the TBI’s Most Wanted list about a month after he reportedly shot three people during a fight at the Souksavahn Restaurant in Smyrna on June 23, 2013.
Mouthouta, who went by the name “Soviet,” was a member of the band at the restaurant and had been playing that night, Detective Allan Nabours with the Smyrna Police Department told News 2 in an interview last year.
Once the fight broke out, Nabours said Mouthouta “just started firing shots into the crowd.” Afterward, he was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
READ MORE: Smyrna homicide suspect on the run almost a decade later
However, he’s managed to evade arrest for several years. He was last seen driving a 2004 silver Honda Accord with Tennessee tag 093NGR. Nabours said there have been a few reported sightings, with the last possibly being in Thailand.
Mouthouta does have family in Tennessee and could still travel back to the U.S. He was previously known for dealing drugs around Rutherford County, according to officials.
He is described as a 5-foot, 5-inch-tall male of Asian descent, weighing around 140 pounds, and with black eyes and black hair. He was 46 years old at the time of the shooting. The TBI is offering a reward of $4,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Obed Cruz-Mena
On May 4, 2010, the Hendersonville Police Department discovered a 23-year-old woman dead from strangulation at an apartment on Sanders Ferry Road. Her husband, Obed Cruz-Mena was added to the TBI’s Most Wanted list days after the alleged murder.
In an interview last year, Detective Steve Malach with Hendersonville Police told News 2 the couple had been going through a divorce. The day before his wife was found dead, Cruz-Mena had been working at a Chili’s restaurant in Rivergate.
RELATED: Hendersonville suspect in 2010 strangulation case remains at large
While there, he was reportedly heard having an argument with his wife over the phone. Authorities said he was going to work an extra shift that night, so he told his boss, “Do you mind if I go home and take care of the problem?”
He made two calls to his brothers afterward, one in which police said he stated, “I did something really bad” and then hung up. Cruz-Mena’s vehicle was later discovered abandoned in Southern Texas near the Mexico border. However, he still has ties to Middle Tennessee.
He is about 5-feet, 4-inches tall, weighs around 180 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. He was 22 years old at the time. The TBI is offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Jose G. Rocha
Jose Rocha is wanted by the TBI and McMinnville Police Department for criminal homicide. The charge stems from May 30, 2009, when Rocha reportedly went to a residence on Martin Street in McMinnville and got into a fight with a man who lived there.
During the fight, police said Rocha pulled out a knife and stabbed the man in the chest before fleeing the area. The man died as a result of the stab wound. Investigators believe Rocha may have been trying to flee to Texas or Mexico after the incident.
Man facing charges after woman found dead outside Nashville hotel
He was possibly driving a black or dark green Dodge Neon at the time. Rocha is about 5-feet, 8-inches tall, weighs around 140 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. He was 20 years old at the time of the alleged stabbing.
A reward of $5,000 is being offered for information leading to his capture.
Robert Houston Sanders
Robert Houston Sanders was serving an 81-year sentence for charges including kidnapping and armed robbery when he escaped from the Tennessee State Prison on April 20, 1990.
He’s the only individual who’s been on the TBI’s Most Wanted list since it was first formed in 1993. Sanders, who has been known to use the aliases Willie Hunter and Willie Sanders, would now be approaching his 59th birthday.
Most Wanted: Robert Houston Sanders
Despite more than two decades without an arrest, the TBI is still pursuing tips in the case and is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Sanders is about 5-feet, 11-inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. Officials said he also has a tattoo on his upper right arm and scars on his right shoulder and left leg.
Anyone with any information on any of their whereabouts is asked to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or write to TipsToTBI@tbi.tn.gov.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
