MARTHAS VINEYARD – From Mass State Police: On August 22, 2023, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force requested assistance from the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (MSP VFAS) in apprehending a man wanted for two armed robberies in Texas. The suspect, Brian Covington, 29, was believed to have fled Texas and traveled from Florida to New York City to Marthas Vineyard.
In February, Covington and a co-defendant, both wearing masks, forced their way into a San Marcos, Texas, apartment at gunpoint. After unplugging the apartment’s wi-fi connection, Covington and the co-defendant stole approximately 60 pairs of high-end shoes, the victims’ cell phones, a PlayStation 5, and various pieces of expensive jewelry. Investigators in San Marcos worked to identify the suspects by sending footage from doorbell security camera to other Texas police departments.
Shortly afterward, a neighboring department contacted San Marcos Police to report that suspects matching Covington and his co-defendant committed an armed robbery outside a club. A round was fired during that robbery.
The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force subsequently identified the suspects as Covington and his co-defendant.
MSP VFAS, in conjunction with the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, Oak Bluffs Police, and members of the United States Marshals Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force, began seeking Covington and developed areas of interest in the towns of Oak Bluff and Vineyard Haven. The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing flew MSP VFAS Troopers to the island early yesterday morning (Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023).
At approximately 10 AM yesterday MSP VFAS Troopers and Oak Bluffs Police detectives conducting surveillance of Pequot Avenue observed Covington walking toward a rooming house. As members of the team approached him, he ran into the rooming house at 20 Pequot Ave.and ran up a flight of stairs. Troopers and officers ran after him and apprehended him without incident inside the building, which is where Covington had been living.
Covington was transported directly to Dukes County Jail,
where he was held without bail pending rendition to Texas.
Photo shows MSP VFAS Troopers just before they departed the island.
