The FBI, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of State, announced the addition of Vitel’Homme Innocent, a.k.a. Vitel’Homme, to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for his alleged involvement in the October 2021 kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizen Christian missionaries in Haiti and for his alleged role in the October 2022 armed hostage-taking in Haiti of two U.S. citizens, one of whom was killed during the event.
He is the 532nd person placed on the list since its inception in 1950.
The Department of State, through their Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program and in coordination with the FBI, is offering an increased reward of up to $2,000,000 for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Vitel’Homme was charged by federal indictments on November 7, 2022, with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and hostage-taking for his involvement in the armed abduction of sixteen American citizens in Haiti in the fall of 2021.
The majority of the victims, who were Christian missionaries working close to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were detained for 61 days before managing to flee.
One of the five kids in the group was only eight months old when they were taken hostage.
According to the FBI, missionaries were abducted, and the 400 Mawozo gang, which is active in the Croix-des-Bouquets neighborhood east of Port-au-Prince, took credit for it.
Under the leadership of Vitel’Homme, the Kraze Barye gang operates in the Haitian regions of Tabarre and Torcelle. The indictment claims that Vitel’Homme collaborated with 400 Mawozo in the hostage-taking.
A second indictment unsealed on October 24, 2023, charged Vitel’Homme for his alleged role in the October 2022 armed hostage-taking in Haiti of two U.S. citizens, one of whom was killed during the event.
Vitel’Homme ordered gang members to kidnap Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin from their home in Haiti on October 7, 2022. On that date, armed gang members forced entry into the Franklin residence and attempted to kidnap the couple by force.
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During the kidnapping, Marie Odette Franklin was shot and killed by the gang members. Her husband was taken into captivity and held at an undisclosed location in Haiti. While Jean Franklin was in captivity, Vitel’Homme participated in ransom negotiations in exchange for his release. On October 28, 2022, Jean Franklin was released from captivity following ransom payments made to the gang on behalf of his family.
“Haitian gang leader Vitel’Homme Innocent is the 532nd fugitive added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted [Fugitives] list for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and killing of U.S. citizens in Haiti,” said Jeffrey B. Veltri, special agent in charge, FBI Miami. “The State Department is offering a reward of up to $2,000,0000 for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. Our resolve to bring him to account for his alleged crimes will not waver. I want to thank the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for their close cooperation and partnership investigating these cases.”
“Vitel’Homme Innocent is charged in the death of an American citizen and alleged involvement in the kidnappings of more than a dozen Americans in Haiti,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “We applaud FBI Miami’s dedication to this case. It is our hope that with the placement on the top ten list, the reward, and the public’s help, Vitel’Homme Innocent will be brought to justice.”
“Through the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), the United States remains committed to supporting all populations in Haiti and around the world made vulnerable through kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activities of violent gangs,” said Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd D. Robinson.
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“DSS, working closely with our FBI partners, is committed to ensuring that those involved in the kidnapping and killing of U.S. citizens face severe consequences for their criminal actions. With the addition of Vitel’Homme Innocent to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted [Fugitives] list, our government has sent a strong message that we will work together to guarantee the capture and prosecution of any individual set on causing harm to our civilians and our nation,” said Phillippe Furstenberg, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Miami Field Office.
Vitel’Homme is believed to be in Haiti and has ties to other countries throughout the Caribbean. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
You can remain anonymous; however, tipsters could receive a reward of up to $2,000,000 for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
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