FBI's Most Wanted woman captured in Florida

A Missouri woman recently added to the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive list wanted in connection to a nearly six-year-old slaying has been captured in northern Florida, law enforcement said.

KaShawn Nicola Roper, 50, of Kansas City, faces felony charges, including murder, in the Aug. 23 2020 fatal shooting of Jazmyn Henrion, a 23-year-old mother of three.

The High Springs Police Department reported officers arrested Roper during a traffic stop within city limits just before 10:30 a.m. local time on April 15.

The city is in Alachua County in the state's northern region, about 20 miles northwest of Gainesville.

At the time of Roper's capture, the FBI – Kansas City Division had been offering a $1 million reward for information leading to her arrest and prosecution and she was named one of two women on the federal agencies' Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Alachua County Sheriff's Office records show Roper remained jailed in Florida on April 16 on a charge of being an out of state fugitive.

Court records reviewed by USA TODAY show she was being held without bond, and that a judge appointed a public defender from that county to represent her on the charge in The Sunshine State.

The public defender's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Authorities wrote in a press release that tips led them to High Springs, where police arrested Roper without incident.

In a statement, Kansas City Missouri Police Chief Stacey Graves said Roper's arrest "is a testament to the strength and connectivity of American law enforcement."

The arrest came one day after the FBI held a news conference asking the public for help in locating Roper.

What is KaShawn Roper accused of?

In a news release, the FBI said that during an altercation, Roper allegedly fired multiple shots at a car in Kansas City, which struck two women including Henrion.

On Sept. 10, 2020, Roper was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the 16th Judicial Circuit in Jackson County, Missouri, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

The following year, on July 1, 2021, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Roper in United States District Court, Western District of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, after she was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

"I'm proud of the collaboration that made this arrest possible," said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley in a statement. "From the moment we received information that Roper may be in our area, we surged into action, working in lockstep with our law enforcement partners to quickly track, locate, and apprehend her... Given the serious and dangerous nature of her alleged crimes, her presence in the community posed an ongoing threat that we could not ignore."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.