A man described by authorities as a white supremacist who faces murder charges in California was captured in a northwest Austin home Thursday night.

Friday, September 15, 2000

A man described by authorities as a white supremacist who faces murder charges in California was captured in a northwest Austin home Thursday night.

Michael Dee Grizzle, 28, was captured by the Federal Fugitive Task Force, the Austin Police Department and the Mower County Sheriff’s Department.

Austin Police Chief Paul M. Philipp said Grizzle’s criminal history indicates he is a "devout white supremacist."

Austin police Detective Dave Schaefer said Riverside County, Calif., authorities had issued an arrest warrant Aug. 3 charging Grizzle with unlawful flight to avoid confinement. On Nov. 3, 1999, Grizzle posted $260,000 bail after being arrested for murder.

The Federal Fugitive Task Force was aided by local authorities when it began its surveillance in Austin at 3 p.m. Thursday and traced Grizzle to a northwest Austin residence, where he had gone to apply a tattoo to a young woman.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, officers surrounded the residence and entered without incident. Grizzle, who was unarmed, did not resist arrest.

He is now in the Mower County Jail awaiting extradition to California.

According to Schaefer, a December 1999 drug bust at a Lyle residence was the first indication authorities had that Grizzle could be in the area.

Peter G. Noe, Timothy Schultz and Randall M. Dolf, plus Andrea Schultz, were arrested at the Lyle residence, where 34 pounds of marijuana, two weapons, including a Tech Nine automatic machine pistol, and $30,000 in cash were seized.

White supremacist literature and other evidence also surfaced during the Lyle raid, police said.

The subjects had ties with white supremacist groups in California, police said.

"There were concerns that the people we arrested were involved with white supremacist groups and we took it seriously and used the Special Incident Response Team to make the arrests," Schaefer said.

Grizzle was in the Mower County area for some time and worked as a free-lance tattoo artist.