Fugitive featured on 'America's Most Wanted' nabbed by U.S. Marshals in Fayetteville

A man featured as a fugitive in a January episode of the TV series “America’s Most Wanted” was jailed in Fayetteville early Tuesday. 

Tahje Akhalid Michael, 29, was arrested by U.S. Marshals at a home off River Road about 6 a.m., said Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Rodrigues. Rodrigues said the Fayetteville U.S. Marshals' office assisted the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force in the arrest. 

Michael was wanted on California warrants charging him with murder and assault with a semi-automatic firearm in the July 4, 2022, killing of Greg Najee Grimes, 31, outside a Sacramento nightclub. 

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The case was featured Jan. 29 on the second episode of Season 2 of the renewed “America’s Most Wanted." The series originally ran on Fox from 1988 to 2011.

In the episode, Sacramento Police Detective Scot Krutz said Grimes, a Sacramento high school football coach, had no known enemies and was having a "peaceful" night at the club with friends when someone opened fire outside, killing Grimes and injuring four others.

"I've been told by witnesses that it might have been over something as meaningless as telling the suspect that his watch was fake,” Krutz said.

Krutz said that earlier in the evening, Grimes had recorded a video of several clubgoers holding up their expensive watches when the comment was made.  

“I have a hard time believing it was so petty, but I've seen people killed for less,” the detective told host John Walsh. 

On Tuesday, Michael appeared in Cumberland County District Court and waived extradition, paving the way for his return to California. It’s not known how long he was in the Fayetteville area. Court records list a local address for him on Vandenberg Drive.

Deputy Marshal Rodrigues said Sacramento law enforcement gathered leads that pointed to Michael’s location here. Rodrigues was unaware of whether the “America’s Most Wanted” episode helped with the apprehension.