If he wanted to avoid the spotlight, Arizona fugitive Jack Liddel O’Neill picked the wrong place. O’Neill, wanted on 12 counts of sexual conduct with a minor, was working at the Suwannee County Fair Friday when arrested following a tip from a viewer of the Fox TV show “America’s Most Wanted.” O’Neill had been featured on a “15 Seconds of Shame” segment during a recent broadcast.

Det. Sgt. Ron Shaw of the Live Oak Police Department and Linda Goley of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement headed up the investigation. “We actually got the tip from the owner of a carnival in Orlando,” said Shaw. “He (O’Neill) had been working down there.” The tip came Thursday. Shaw and Goley, backed up by their agencies as well as the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, moved in Friday to make the arrest.

First they sent in a surveillance team from “America’s Most Wanted” to verify O’Neill’s identity. He was working a “throw a dart break a balloon” booth. A couple dressed like tourists strolled the midway with a video camera. O’Neill noticed them and became a little antsy but didn’t flee.

Then LOPD Chief Buddy Williams and Lt. Joe Daly walked through, in plainclothes, to verify the ID.

O’Neill then abandoned his post, said Shaw. He and Goley began to tail him. They came around a corner and almost bumped into him at one point, Shaw said, but he didn’t realize who they were.

Finally everyone was in place and it was time to move in. O’Neill put up no resistance, said Shaw, but did protest his innocence.

“It’s a once in a career opportunity,” said Williams. “Nine out of 10 of these tips don’t pan out.”

Williams called the cooperative effort between local law enforcement agencies “a testimony to the professionalism” of all of them.

Law enforcement officials say O’Neill has a long history of employment with fairs and carnivals.

O’Neill, 46, allegedly molested three young girls. He is being held without bond in the Suwannee County Jail.