Former PTC man faked death to avoid trial; found at homeless shelter

A former Peachtree City man who faked his own death last month — just before his scheduled trial on child molestation charges — was found in Miami Wednesday morning authorities said.

When agents with the U.S. Marshals caught up with Julian Dale Pipkins, he was outside a homeless shelter wearing a ballcap and sunglasses, a marshals spokesman said.

Pipkins was slated for trial last month for molesting the 12-year-old daughter of his girlfriend. But his attorney, Paul Liston, reported that he had heard from Pipkins son that his client was missing at sea.

The south Florida office of the U.S. Marshals received a tip that Pipkins was in the area from a fugitive task force in Atlanta, said marshals spokesman Barry Golden. Because the case involved a sex offense with a child victim, the office moved quickly to act on the tip, Golden said.

When he was arrested by marshals and Miami-Dade police, one of the marshals asked Pipkins "if he knew what this was all about" and Pipkins replied that yes, he knew, Golden said. Pipkins was carrying an emergency medical identification card that was in the name of Anthony Jones, which indicates he may have been using that name as an alias, Golden said. The card was issued by Jackson Memorial Hospital, the largest hospital serving downtown Miami, Golden said.

Pipkins was arrested without incident and is currently in the Dade County Jail, Golden said.

Once Pipkins returns to Fayette County, he will likely be tried in March during the next scheduled date for jury trials here, said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said, noting that he will ask the court to deny bond.

Ballard is unsure if he will seek charges of bail jumping against Pipkins, because if convicted of the sex offenses he will face up to 40 years in prison, Ballard said.

“And I’m going to seek every bit of that,” Ballard said.

By contrast, the bail jumping charge carries a maximum penalty of five years, Ballard noted.

Ballard said he was told that the U.S. Coast Guard spent approximately $50,000 in the search for Pipkins even though he was alive.

“You would like to see the government recoup at least some of that money,” Ballard said.

When the alleged crime was initially reported, the victim’s mother told police that she saw Pipkins in bed with her daughter. A medical exam later confirmed that the girl had been molested, police said.

At the time of his arrest, Pipkins was employed as a strategic sourcing manager with Cooper Lighting, police said. He had recently been relocated from Texas, and after he made bond he moved back to Texas, Ballard said.

Before Pipkins can be brought back to Georgia, he can fight the legal process called “extradition” but only by challenging whether or not he is the person sought in the arrest warrant, Ballard said.

The case caught the attention of national media, particularly after authorities learned that Pipkins was still alive and on the lam.