A 42-year-old Kentucky man accused of violating parole for a conviction and failing to register as a felon in Marion County is on his way back to the Blue Grass State after being apprehended in Florida.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said his team received information from the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit that Ronald Exantus had established residence in Marion County yet never informed Sheriff’s officials about his convicted felon status, even though he was living in Marion Oak.
Exantus was convicted of stabbing a 6-year-old, Logan Tipton, to death in Versailles, Kentucky. That 2015 conviction was later overturned due to reason of insanity, however. He still was found guilty of two other counts of second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault. Exantus served half his sentence and was released on parole and eventually relocated to Marion Oak.
“In this case, cooperation between the agencies was critical,” said State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Bill Gladson. “The professionals at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution worked together seamlessly to ensure that this offender was captured and returned to Kentucky.”
Attorney General James Uthmeier said he’s relieved local law enforcement acted so quickly.
“Today, this child murderer is on his way back to Kentucky — where he belongs,” Uthmeier said.
Marian County Sheriff’s deputies found Exantus in a residence on South West 43rd Terrace in Marion Oaks and arrested him. Officials pointed out that the home where he was staying was adjacent to Sunrise Elementary School and a few blocks from Horizon Academy.
“This case and arrest are the perfect example of how the collaborative efforts of our judicial system should work,” Woods said. “This is why the State of Florida is a cut above all others when protecting citizens and the state from true evil in the world.”
