>> they got the drop on him with machine guns and basically said, "halt or die." and he stopped. he gave himself up. >> reporter: the end of the line. >> that was the first time he had ever had handcuffs on in his life. >> reporter: it was also the first time anyone on the island heard wild bill's real name -- >> my name is william dathan holbert. >> reporter: fun loving bocas del toro bartender wild bill cortez was in fact, william dathan holbert -- a 30-year-old who'd been on the run from american authorities since 2006. as the islanders absorbed the headlines of a killer among them, they discovered that wild bill had a long and notorious past that stretched nearly 2,000 miles. from the white sand beaches of bocas del toro all the way to the blue ridge mountains of north carolina. that's where he grew up, going by his middle name -- dathan. he played high school football. married his sweetheart, had three kids, and worked as a landscaper. his old boss at a gym, kevin hoover, liked dathan -- until dathan had an affair with one of