Investigators in Summit County finally have a break in the case of a dismembered body found in April near the Wyoming border.
Mark Allen Carlson, 33, known as Neptune, was arrested Tuesday after an informant's tip led officers to his location.
U.S. marshals apprehended Carlson late Tuesday afternoon when he pulled into a convenience store near 4100 S. 3200 West.
"We developed some information from a number of sources that he was in the area and frequented it often," said Mike Wingert, a U.S. marshals criminal investigator. "Just as he pulled into the service station, we were able to arrest him without incident."
On at least four previous occasions Carlson was able to avoid arrest, though officers kept "just close enough to remain on his trail," Wingert said. "We considered him real dangerous and a flight risk. Every time he'd get out before (officers) could get the house surrounded."
He said Carlson had tried to camouflage himself a number of times, including most recently by dyeing his hair and goatee a reddish-pink color, which helped law enforcement identify him Tuesday.
Carlson was wanted on a Board of Pardons warrant for violating parole. However, officials are investigating multiple additional charges including felony fleeing from several agencies and involvement in drug distribution. Wingert said after searching Carlson's vehicle, officers made "a significant seizure of methamphetamine along with various drug paraphernalia."
Carlson was also the most significant person of interest in the dismembering of John D. Mayo's body, which was found during the week of April 18 along a stretch of I-80.
A Union Pacific employee who was driving on a frontage road that runs parallel to the interstate noticed what looked like human hands on the road. The Summit County Sheriff's Office began a weeklong investigation and found a torso, foot and other bones over five miles. A head was never located.
Hundreds of tips poured in to the sheriff's office about the case, but criminalists from the Utah State Crime Lab matched fingerprints on the decayed hands with Mayo, a convicted sex offender.
Police believe Mayo was murdered sometime in 2004 and that his body was in the wilderness for eight to 11 months before being discovered.
Eventually, the investigation turned to Carlson.
He was wanted by the Utah Department of Corrections after absconding from the Bonneville Community Correctional Center on March 21 and had a no-bail warrant out for his arrest. His criminal history includes auto theft, forgery, drug charges and firing a gun from a vehicle.
He is believed to be a member of a white supremacist gang.
Carlson was named Public Enemy No. 1 in early June by the Salt Lake Metro Gang Unit.