Walter Leonard Smalls, 69, of Grants Pass, Oregon, was arrested on March 18, 2025, for failure to appear for possession of a controlled substance with intent in Madison County, Tennessee, following a coordinated investigation by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) in the Districts of West Tennessee and Oregon.
On May 3, 2023, a Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped an RV on Interstate 40 for traffic offenses. A probable cause search of the vehicle revealed 437 pounds (0.2 t) of vacuum-sealed marijuana packages, 800 THC cartridges, 84 mushroom chocolate bars, 27 edible mushroom packages, 24 packs of THC delicacies, and about 1 pound (0.45 kg) of THC wax. Walter Smalls was arrested and taken to the Madison County Jail. He was later released under bond.
Small’s arrest warrant was issued when he failed to appear for his arraignment in Madison County Circuit Court on August 12, 2024.
The fugitive case was taken over by the USMS Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Jackson. The task force discovered that Smalls was back in Oregon and gave investigation leads to the USMS Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force.
On May 18, 2025, the task force apprehended Smalls at a house in Wolf Creek, Oregon. He is being held at the Josephine County Jail.
The U.S. Marshals Service Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency task force within Western Tennessee. The TRVFTF has offices in Memphis and Jackson, and its membership is primarily composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Shelby, Fayette, Tipton, and Gibson County Sheriff’s Deputies, Memphis and Jackson Police Officers, Tennessee Department of Correction Special Agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Since 2021, the TRVFTF has captured over 3,000 violent offenders and sexual predators.
