BOLO, or whatever happened to James (Kreuger) or (James Praefke) or now Christopher Wilkinson

Wilkinson; United States v. Wilkinson, 2022 CCA LEXIS 320 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 202).


"A former Army captain who was on the run for almost five years after fleeing a court-martial for sexually abusing his daughter was found hiding at his mother’s house last week.

Christopher Wilkinson, once an intelligence officer at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, was arrested by a U.S. Marshals Service task force on Sept. 18, according to a press release shared with Task & Purpose by the law enforcement agency.

Wilkinson had been on the run since his command granted him leave in January 2021, just weeks before he was expected to face a court-martial. He was granted leave, according to court records, “based in part on his history of professionalism and timeliness.” He instead fled, leading to a yearslong manhunt that ended in rural Illinois, where investigators spotted Wilkinson’s blue 1963 Chevy pickup parked at his mother’s home — and the fugitive ex-captain stashed away upstairs.

“Christopher Wilkinson will transfer to the Army on a date yet to be determined to serve his sentence for his in absentia conviction[.]"

​And a second trial for ???

James Tait (Krueger) Praefke is a wanted man, according to NCIS, since late 2005.

NCIS is soliciting tips from anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of James Tait (Krueger) Praefke, a former Sailor who escaped confinement from Naval Brig Puget Sound, Wash., Nov. 13, 2005 and may be located in the Fort Pierce, Fla. area.

At his court-martial, original charges of child sexual abuse were ultimately withdrawn however he pleaded guilty to stealing, possessing, and transporting ammunition and a grenade, illegally possessing explosives and making a false official statement. He was sentenced to three years in a Navy prison on Oct. 4, 2005, and escaped while awaiting transfer to a prison in California.

A search of various resources will not find an NMCCA decision in the case of either United States v. Kreuger or United States v. Praefke. Perhaps because it was a GP PTA. Should he be found, will he be prosecuted for desertion, escape from custody, and any other offenses he is alleged to have committed while free but subject to the UCMJ?