Fugitive Bethlehem Drug Dealer Wilkins Nabbed at Miami Airport

Timothy Stanley Wilkins, 41, of Bethlehem, PA, is back in U.S. custody — this time in handcuffs at Miami International Airport. The fugitive was captured late Tuesday night while attempting to re-enter the country after fleeing prosecution on federal drug and firearms charges. Wilkins had been on the run since being indicted in March 2020, dodging accountability for a criminal case that could land him in prison for life.

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a three-count Indictment against Wilkins on March 11, 2020, charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Once he learned of the charges, Wilkins didn’t stick around to face them — he vanished, fleeing the country in a brazen bid to escape justice. That escape ended abruptly at a South Florida airport terminal under federal surveillance.

“As alleged in the Indictment, charging him with firearms and drug offenses, Wilkins has a brazen disrespect for the law,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain. “In response to the charges, he fled the country, but all that did was postpone the inevitable. If you are charged in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with a federal offense, there is no place to hide, here or abroad. We will not rest until we find you and hold you accountable.”

Wilkins will have his initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida before being extradited back to Pennsylvania to face trial. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars, up to 8 years of supervised release, a $1,500,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment. The charges paint a picture of a repeat offender deeply entrenched in violent, illegal activity.

“Timothy Wilkins fled to evade prosecution on state charges brought against him,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Now he’s in the federal system, indicted on these drug and gun charges and safely in custody. The FBI and our partners at the Bethlehem Police Department will continue to work together to protect our community from those engaged in illegal and dangerous activity.”

The coordinated takedown involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Allentown Resident Agency, the City of Bethlehem Police Department, and the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office. Northampton County District Attorney Terence P. Houck praised the interagency cooperation: “It is important for people to know that together, we will investigate, arrest and convict these law breakers by exhausting all federal and state efforts in the pursuit of this cause.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein is prosecuting the case. An indictment is not a conviction — Wilkins is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.